Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements
by Amisha N. Smith
Summary: A fun mixture of cool characters old and new, this is a story mainly about the daughter of Zidane and Garnet and her quest to save the world! FFVII, FFIX crossover
1. Default Chapter

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements**

  


**by: Amisha N. Smith**

_Whew! This chapter was a doozy to write! Yeah, I've put off my other fics to write this one. (I'll finish the other ones later.) Right now, since I just got a Playstation 2 and Final Fantasy X for my birthday I'm in the mood to write an FF fic. Believe it or not, I've been planning this one for a while. Usual disclaimer stuff: I don't own Final Fantasy, don't sue me, blah blah blah. Okay, let's get this story started!_

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements**  
**Chapter One**

_Where am I?_

Slowly the girl opened her eyes, but everything she saw was too blurry to make out. She became aware that she was laying on her back on the cold, hard ground.

_How did I get here?_

She squinted her eyes and slowly turned her head, trying to make out her surroundings, and was rewarded for her efforts with dizziness and sharp spasms of pain going through her entire body. She opened her mouth to yell out in agony but no sound came out. That's when she realized that she had absolutely no energy within her; she was so weak she couldn't even scream. She closed her eyes again, wishing she would just pass back out. But it was to no avail. Darkness would not claim her; she was in too much pain to sleep.

_What happened to me?_

She could only barely hear the voices of people talking somewhere near, although as muffled as the voices were to her, they may as well have come from a mile away. She then very vaguely felt as if her body suddenly rose swiftly off the ground and started floating quickly away, and she became aware that someone had picked her up and was carrying her. The strange thing was, although she had no idea who was carrying her, she felt completely safe in their arms. It might as well have been her father carrying her away.

_Who are you?_

She opened her eyes for the second time and saw the oddest pair of light-blue eyes looking back down at her. The eyes were so clear and bright that they seemed almost as if they were glowing. "Are you alright?", she heard a mellow voice ask gently. Before she could say "no", a loud explosion erupted just behind her and her surrounding began to rumble violently. The man holding her (whose features she hadn't quite made out yet) looked upward and around at the ceiling and walls, which were crumbling at an alarming rate. "I'd better get you out of here", the man said urgently.

"No", she managed to croak weakly. "I won't leave him. He needs me."

_Who needs me?_

Suddenly there was another explosion, even louder than the first one, and her surroundings were completely engulfed in a blinding white light….

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_"Gaaaaah!"_  
With a loud cry of fear, Nova Tribal woke up sweating from her nightmare and quickly sat up straight in her bed. She was shaking all over, just like the last time she'd had the nightmare. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm her nerves. _That's the third night in a row I've had that same dream_, she thought to herself. _What could it mean?_ Suddenly she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Your highness? Your highness, are you alright?", an alarmed and familiar voice asked. With a sigh, Nova stretched her arms and legs and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm fine, Steiner. Come on in", she said. No later than when she said that did into her room rush a muscular, stocky man covered from head to toe in a rusty suit of armor. It was Adelbert Steiner, the captain of the knights of Alexandria and her personal protector since the day she was born. "Princess, I heard you cry out and figured you might need my assistance", the knight said with a salute. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, yes", Nova replied, slightly annoyed. "And how many times have I told you not to call me princess? I get enough of that from my tutors and the townspeople. Just call me Nova, okay?"

"B-but, it's….. it's forbidden!", Steiner stammered. "A lowly knight such as myself has no business calling you, a princess of Alexandria, by her first name!" Nova sighed and folded her arms. "Ever the dutiful knight, aren't you?", she said, irritated. "You know, when I asked Beatrice to call me by my first name, she had no problem with it." At the mention of his fiancée, the great general of the elite knights of Alexandria, Steiner took a small step back and cleared his throat. "Urm…. Ahem. Well I suppose….", he said before trailing off. Nova smirked. It never fails. Just the mere mention of Beatrice was always enough to turn Steiner into a blushing, blubbering fool. It was really rather cute. "Oh, um, your mother asked me to wake you up this morning", Steiner said hastily. "She and your father have a big day planned for you today."

Nova yawned and rubbed her arms. "Yeah, I know", she replied. "Okay, I'll be down in a minute." Steiner saluted and turned to go, then turned back around as if he forgot something. He looked around, as if he was checking to see if anyone else was there. "Oh, by the way", Steiner said with a grin, "Happy birthday, Nova." Nova grinned back. "Thanks, Steiner", she said warmly. After Steiner had gone, Nova got up out of her bed and stretched her arms and legs some more. Then she stretched her tail a little bit, a long, furry, light-brown genetic heirloom she had inherited from her father. It was indeed her eighteenth birthday today. And just like all her other birthdays, her mother and her father had a big celebration planned for her. But this birthday they had something extra planned. For this day marks her first step into womanhood. Nova went over to her bedroom window and opened the curtains to let the morning sun in.

_Womanhood. Yeah, right_, she thought to herself. _I still like ditching my tutors and sneaking out of study hall to go play kickball. And as much as I like boys, a part of me still believes they all have cooties. How can someone like me possibly be ready for adulthood?_ She then remembered with a smile that her mother Queen Garnet once told her that her father King Zidane and her older cousin Eiko, the regent of the grand castle town of Lindblum, were even more immature than she was. And look how great they turned out.

_Cousin Eiko!_, Nova thought as she hit upon an idea. _That's it! I'll ask her about my dream!_ Her cousin always came to visit her on her birthdays. And she was good at reading the meaning behind dreams and premonitions. Maybe she could help her discover the meaning of her recurring dream. _I hope so_, she thought as she moved over to her dresser and started brushing her long, dark hair in the mirror. _If she can help me figure out the meaning of this nightmare from hell I keep having, maybe it will go away and I can have a decent forty winks of sleep for once._ Nova slipped on her silk robe and velvet house shoes and went outside her room, headed towards the royal bathing room. Time for this birthday girl to freshen up and make her royal entrance.

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"Whattya mean breakfast is over?", Nova whined as she watched the servants clean up the royal dining room and whisk the dirty dishes away to be washed. "It's barely been morning for over a minute!"

"Actually it's been morning for quite a while now", Queen Garnet said with her hands on her hips. "It's now one hour shy of noon. Honestly, missing your own birthday breakfast! The very shame of it! And we made your favorite, too!" Nova pouted. Her mother didn't have to tell her that. She could smell the aroma of waffles and strawberry syrup still hanging in the air. "You couldn't just hold breakfast for me?", she complained. "Why should we have to?", her mother countered. "You're eighteen years old! You should be old enough to make it down here in time for breakfast! Honestly, you're just like your father!" As if on cue, that's exactly when King Zidane walked into the dining room, stretching his arms and tail and yawning loudly.

"_Man_, am I starving!", the king announced. "What's for breakfast?"

Queen Garnet looked at her husband, then at her daughter. She then just shook her head and giggled. "Just like your father", she laughed. Then she turned around and started heading towards the throne room. "Come on, Nova", she said over her shoulder. "Your dad and I have something very special to give you." As she walked away Zidane looked around him in confusion. "Hey, what about breakfast?", he asked.

"Breakfast is over, dad", Nova said glumly. "We missed it."

"You gotta be kidding!", the king exclaimed, stroking his slight beard. "It's barely been morning past a minute!"

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Nova walked into the throne room behind her parents and was surprised and delighted by what she saw. The room was packed full of a variety of people from the royal servants to the highest nobles in the land. When the people saw the royal family they all cheered loudly. Zidane turned around and told her to wait there, then winked at her and followed his wife up to their ivory thrones. Nova grinned in the midst of the cheering crowd. She had to admit she was getting pretty excited. When the king and queen reached their thrones they turned to address the cheering crowd and Garnet held up a hand to quiet them.

"Welcome, one and all, and thank you for attending", the queen announced. "As you all know, today is my daughter's eighteenth birthday. It is not just a day for her parents to celebrate, however. This day belongs to all of Alexandria, for it is this day that our kingdom's princess has officially blossomed into a full grown woman!" At that, the crowd gave another loud cheer and Nova rubbed the back of her neck and looked down, embarrassed. After the crowd finally quieted down the king began to speak.

"Since this birthday is indeed a landmark occasion", Zidane said loudly, "her mother and I have decided to commemorate it by giving her her first two birthday presents. These are not just gifts, however. These items hold a lot of importance." Zidane then smiled and held out his hand. "Approach, Princess Nova." Nova walked towards the throne, doing her best to walk as gracefully as possible, although graceful really wasn't her style. She walked up to her parents and gave a small bow. With a smile, the queen held her hand out towards her. In her hand was a beautiful golden necklace with a dark red stone in the middle of it. Nova instantly recognized it. It was her mother's most valuable possession, the necklace she used when she wanted to summon her most powerful eidolon, Bahamut the king of dragons. The dark red stone in the middle was a garnet, which was of course her mother's namesake. Queen Garnet was a summoner that was born in Madain Sarai, a city full of people with the ability to summon creatures with practical godlike power and strength to do their bidding. That city was destroyed when Garnet was a baby, and she was the only survivor. The then queen and king of Alexandria found her and sawed off her summoning horn, which was a genetic brand on the forehead of anybody from Madain Sarai, and adopted her as their own child. Nova looked down at the necklace her mother was giving her, hardly daring to believe it. "W-wow", she said softly. "For _me_? _Really_?"

"Absolutely", her mother replied as she fastened the necklace around Nova's neck. "In times of trial and danger, may it always protect you." The queen then leaned forward and looked into her daughter's eyes. "Only in times of trial and danger, understood?" Nova nodded sheepishly, remembering when she was six and had taken her mother's necklace from her jewelry box and used it to summon Bahamut, trying to be a summoner like her mother. Too bad the sudden appearance of a giant red and black dragon in the skies over Alexandria didn't seem as cool to everyone else in the kingdom as it did to her back then. Luckily, before she had the chance to hop on the back of her big new pet and go for a ride, her mother reached her side and used her power to make the beast return to whence it came. "Hey, I was young and dumb back then", Nova responded. "I'm eighteen now, and full of the wisdom of womanhood, right?" Garnet said nothing but raised one eyebrow as if to say: _You'd better be._

"And now for my gift", Zidane said proudly. He reached down at his sides and produced two extremely sharp and extremely deadly looking green daggers. He held them out handle-first towards Nova, who's jaw dropped almost to the floor. "Whoa! Cool!", she said. "First a summoner's gem, and now a deadly sharp weapon! No, _two_ deadly sharp weapons!" She took the blades with a happy grin. "This birthday just keeps getting better and better!" "These are called the Twin Moon", Zidane said about the daggers. "They're pretty powerful, and pretty dangerous. Like the gem your mother gave you, these are to be used only when you're in serious trouble. Got it?"

"Yep", Nova replied happily. "Don't worry, I'll use them responsibly." Zidane nodded. He then took his daughter by the shoulders and turned her around to face the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen", he boomed "I present to you Princess Nova; your future queen has today become a woman. Let us now go to the ballroom and celebrate her coming of age!" A roar of cheering and applause when on throughout the throne room. Nova smiled and waved at the crowd, her eyes busily scanning the room for any sign of her cousin Eiko. _Where is she?_, Nova thought as her eyes darted this way and that. _She's gotta be here….Oh, there she is!_ She finally caught sight of a smiling dark-haired beauty with a most unusual horn growing out of her head. Nova waved at her with a grin and rushed forward into the crowd to talk to her cousin. She was almost there when…._"Yeaahhh!"_, Nova exclaimed as she almost tripped over something. She looked down and saw her best friend, Viva Orunitia, searching desperately on the ground for something. Viva was a black mage like her father Vivi, the most powerful wizard in the land who also happened to be King Zidane's best friend since they were kids.

"Hey, Viva", Nova greeted her friend. "Um,…whattya looking for? Did ya drop something?"

"Oh, um, hi Nova", Viva said looking shyly down at her fidgeting hands. She always seemed as if she were trying to hide under her huge cone-shaped hat. She was as timid as her father. "I, uh, I brought you a birthday present…. but….uh….some people bumped into me and I dropped it."

"Hey, no prob", Nova said happily. "I'll help you look for it." "Thanks", Viva replied, and the two girls began scanning the floor for the missing birthday present. Much of the crowd had already dispersed to the ballroom, so it was becoming increasingly easier to get around. After two minutes of searching, there was still no sign of the missing gift. "Darn, where _is_ it?", Nova said as she searched around on the floor. She was glad she wore her slacks today instead of her frilly white dress, as her mother strongly insisted. Suddenly a pair of wicked looking boots stepped in front of her. Nova looked up to behold someone staring down at her. The stranger's features were completely obscured by a dark hood worn over the head and attached to a tattered cloak. The stranger held out an adorable plush teddy bear towards her. "Is this what you were looking for?", the hooded figure asked in a dark voice. Before Nova could ask "Who the hell are you?" her best friend spoke up.

"Yes! Yes, that's it!", Viva said excitedly. "That's your birthday present, Nova!" Cautiously, Nova reached out and took the teddy bear. "Uh….thanks, whoever you are", she said, suspicious.

"It is almost time for you to meet your destiny", the figure said, completely surprising Nova. "The stage is set, and you have been chosen as the lead actress in fate's play. Keep on your toes and stay strong, for much in this drama will be riding on your shoulders." The stranger then turned and was gone, faster than he appeared. Nova and Viva stared after him for a minute, perplexed. Finally Viva spoke up. "Weird", she said.

"Weird is an understatement", Nova replied. "Who the heck was that guy? And what was he talking about?" For a moment she pondered whether or not she should go ask him. Then she just shrugged it off. "Meh, probably just some weirdo who decided to crash the party", she said dismissively. "I'll let royal security handle it." She then looked at the plush bear in her hand. "This is really cute, Viva! Thanks!", she said with a grin. "How'd you know I liked stuffed animals?" Viva looked shyly down at her feet. "Ms. Eiko told me", she replied.

_"Ahhh! Eiko!"_, Nova exclaimed, remembering she had something to talk to her cousin about. "I completely forgot! I gotta go speak to her! Where'd she go?" "Maybe she followed the crowd to the ballroom?", Viva suggested. "Aw, _man_! That means I gotta pick her out of the crowd again!", Nova whined. "C'mon, Viva. Let's go see if we can't find her." The two girls blended with the crowd on their way to the ballroom.

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"Hey! Vivi, Eiko, over here!", Zidane called out when he saw his old friends. He was pleased as punch that they decided to come, because it had been almost a year since he last saw them. About a minute later Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, and Eiko were embracing each other. "_Man_, it's great to see you guys!", Zidane said happily. "What have you been up to?"

"Well, I've been busy trying to raise eight kids", Vivi said somewhat shyly. "They're a handful. Especially Viva, my youngest. Man, her black magic powers are already stronger than mine, and she hasn't even learned the advanced skills yet. One time she did a fire spell trying to cook something and she almost burned the house down!" The four friends had a hearty laugh. "Hey, where's Steiner?", Vivi asked. "I wonder what he's been up to."

"Oh! Man, have I got some news about ol' Rusty!", Zidane exclaimed, calling Steiner by the nickname he gave him years ago. Even after all this time, it never failed to infuriate Steiner when Zidane called him that. "After years of an off and on relationship, he finally had the balls to ask Beatrice to marry him!"

_"Really?"_, Eiko said, excited. "Well! It's about time! So, when's the wedding gonna be?"

"In the fall", Garnet said with a smile. "Then they're gonna spend their honeymoon in New Burmecia. That's so romantic!"

"It sure is! In fact, that's where mother and father are thinking about spending a second honeymoon!", Eiko said, speaking of former regent Cid and his wife Hilda, the kindly couple that adopted her when she was little. Her face then clouded over and became serious. "Of course, what with what's been happening for the past few months, I'm not so sure that leaving Lindblum would be safe for them right now."

"Yeah, I know what you mean", Vivi agreed. "I've heard the rumors too. About monsters killing people and stealing their souls."

"Yes, those rumors are quite disturbing", Garnet said with a troubled look on her face. "Beatrice and Steiner have already been looking into it, but so far they haven't been able to find out anything about these supposed soul stealing monsters."

"Well you know, it could be just a rumor", Zidane offered.

"But Zidane, the one thing that isn't a rumor is the fact that people are dead", Eiko said unhappily. "Just two weeks ago, a duke had to bury his five year old son. He said his boy was murdered and his soul stolen before his very eyes by one of those monsters." She then folded her arms and looked distressed. "Um, guys? I have something to tell you. For the past few days, I've been having this same dream, over and over." At that, her friends stiffened up and prepared to hear bad news. Eiko had been gifted with the ability to have premonitions, a power that only just revealed itself a few years ago. And more often than not, the premonitions were less than pleasant. "In my dream, the elements of fire and earth are tearing up the planet, just ripping it apart. Mountains crumble, the ground quakes; it's just a mess. Then I see the elements charge forward, as if they're attacking something. I look and see a bright light; that's what they are attacking."

"Man", Zidane said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "I'd hate to be that light."

"What if you were that light's _father?_", Eiko asked seriously. At that, Zidane's pulse quickened. "What do you mean by that?", he asked, his voice rising slightly. "As the elements of fire and earth close in on their enemy", Eiko continued, "the light begins to take on a human form. The form it takes on is that of your daughter, Nova."

For a few moments, there was complete silence. Then, in a shaky voice, Garnet asked "Did anything else happen in the dream?"

"Yes", Eiko said. "Before fire and earth can reach Nova, three more elements rush past her towards them; water, wind, and darkness. Together with Nova, they attack fire and earth. The fight is fierce; the earth rumbles violently as the battle goes out of control. And that's when I wake up."

Vivi whistled. "That's intense", he said in a low voice.

"Yes", Eiko nodded. "And what's more, I can't shake this strong feeling that the dream has something to do with the soul stealing monsters we've been hearing so much about."

"Wait a minute, you don't think they might come here after Nova, do you?", Zidane asked sharply. Every fiber of his being was now tense, as if he was just about to engage a gigantic monster in battle like he did in the old days. "I don't know", Eiko replied. "But I'd keep a sharp eye on her." Garnet looked around. "Where is she?", she asked anxiously, looking for her daughter. "I saw her and Viva heading for the ballroom", Vivi said. "Don't worry, I'm sure she's safe right no…." A deafeningly loud explosion cut off the rest of Vivi's sentence and the entire palace shook. "What was _that_?", Garnet asked. The only answer she got was the sound of panicked screams coming from the direction of….

_"The ballroom!_", Zidane yelled. Without another word, the quartet of friends rushed out of the throne room towards the ballroom. Zidane and Vivi were in the lead, ready to tear apart whatever might be threatening their children.

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"Any sign of her yet, Viva?", Nova asked as she and her best friend scanned the ballroom floor from the balcony looking for Eiko.

"Nope. Not yet", Viva replied. "Just a whole bunch of dancing and talking nobles and servants carrying food trays. Um, why exactly are you looking for her?"

"Well", Nova said, "I was hoping she could help me out with something. You see, for the past few nights I have been having this crazy dream…." That's as far as Nova got in her reply before she got the biggest shock of her life. A large explosion erupted throughout the ballroom as up through the floor busted the biggest and ugliest creature Nova had ever seen. People and food and wine trays went flying as the creature made it's not-so-grand entrance. Once it had revealed itself it shook it's blubbery body, separated the deadly looking pincers covered in green slime on the front of it's hideous face, and let loose a mighty roar.

_"Whoa!_ What the hell is _that_ thing?", Nova yelled.

_"Antlion!"_, someone screamed from the ballroom floor, as if to answer her question. That's when all chaos broke loose as people began screaming and trying to make their way out through the large ballroom doors.

"Look at 'em! They're in such a hurry to get away that they're getting stuck in the doorway!", Nova observed. "At this rate, most of them will be lunch for that monster before long! We gotta buy them some time to escape!" Nova drew her Twin Moon and started to run for the stairs leading down into the ballroom only to be stopped by Viva deliberately standing in her way.

"A-are you _crazy?_", Viva said, terrified. "Y-you can't possibly mean you're going to take on that huge, ferocious monster!"

"Actually, I thought that _we_ would be taking on that huge, ferocious monster", Nova replied. "C'mon, you're not gonna make your bestest friend in the whole world fight that thing alone, are you?"

"You _are_ crazy!", Viva exclaimed. "Nova, please, don't do this! Let the guards handle it!" "The guards are among the people stuck in the doorway trying to escape", Nova pointed out. "Which means if anyone's going to do something to stop that monster, it's gonna be _us_. C'mon, we can _do_ it! I've been training with Beatrice to fight since I was ten. And you've been practicing your black magic only your _whole friggin' life_! Besides, in order to make it out the doors we'll have to go past the antlion anyway! You think it's just gonna let us waltz out of here?"

Viva closed her eyes, looked down, and began to tremble. Nova gently took her by her shoulders. "We can do it", she said firmly. "Together." After about half a minute Viva finally just shook her head. "I hope you know what we're doing", she said in a shaky voice. Nova grinned. "Don't worry, Viva", she said lightly. "As long as we just fight our hardest and watch each other's back, we can't lose. So let's _do_ it!" Viva shook her head again. "I wish I was as confident as you are", she replied as she revealed a medium sized oak staff. "O-okay, let's try." Nova and Viva rushed down the stairs and out onto the ballroom floor. They were just in time, because the antlion had picked up one of the guards by his leg and was trying to drag the screaming man underground with it. "Send that oversized cockroach a message, Viva", Nova yelled. "Okay, here goes", Viva said. She waved her staff at the antlion and the creature was assaulted by a small pillar of white hot fire. The antlion screamed, dropped the guard it was trying to eat, and turned to face it's attacker. "Okay, now that we got your attention", Nova said icily. "Let me show you how we deal with party crashers." Suddenly, as the antlion stared at her and Viva and readied to counter attack, Nova started getting a strange feeling that maybe the antlion was there just for her; that it was specifically after her for some reason.

_But why?_, she thought to herself. _Why would an antlion invade the palace trying to get me?_ She was shaken out of her thought by the antlion lunging for her. She jumped quickly to the side, barely escaping the monster's assault, and quickly countered by slashing at it with one of her daggers. The monster roared in pain and reeled back. _Yes! Direct hit!_, Nova thought triumphantly. Then, as the creature let out another thunderous roar, this time in unquenchable rage, Nova decided it would be wise to just kill it now and wonder why it was here later. "Let's show this bug bitch how we do things downtown!", Nova yelled. "Y-yeah!", Viva exclaimed, and the two girls officially began their first battle.


	2. Chapter Two

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements

  
by: Amisha N. Smith**

_Another chapter finished! Geez, this is hard work! I don't know how people like Dean Koontz and J.K. Rowley do it! Well, I gotta admit, this is fun! Oh, and all you FF9 fans out there are in for a treat! A super major character from the FF universe is about to make his debut in my fic! Who, you ask? Heh, heh, well if I told you, you wouldn't have to read it, would ya? So read, already!_

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
Chapter Two**

"Get the hell out of our way!", Steiner yelled hysterically as he and Beatrice fought to make their way to the ballroom. The two knights had been desperately trying to cut through the mob of panicked people stampeding away from the ballroom for about ten minutes now, and as far as Steiner was concerned, that was nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds way too long. Neither he nor Beatrice had seen any sign of the princess since this chaos began, which meant there was a very good chance that she was still in the ballroom with whatever was causing this riot.

Which meant there was a very good chance that Princess Nova was in serious danger.

"It's no use, Steiner!", Beatrice yelled. "There are too many people! We'll never get through here in time! We have to find another way to the ballroom!"

_Blast!_, Steiner thought, frustrated and anxious. _Beatrice is right! If we don't find another path to the ballroom past these fools, the princess may be…._ Suddenly an idea hit him and he halfway smiled, impressed with his own ingenuity. "Come, this way!", he said as he grabbed Beatrice by her wrist and yanked her to the side, startling her. He pulled her into a hallway to the right of the screaming, stampeding mob of frightened people.

"Steiner! What….?", Beatrice began. "Our path to the ballroom lies in this hallway", Steiner announced as he frantically began taking down the paintings hanging on the walls. "I just remembered that there is a secret passageway somewhere around here…. Ah, here it is!" Steiner had taken down a picture of a knight riding a black chocobo and revealed a small button on the wall. He pushed the button and the wall behind him slid open to the side, revealing a secret doorway. "Ah-_haa!_", Steiner crowed triumphantly. "This passage leads to anywhere in the palace you'd want to go! We're well on our way, Beatrice!" He then balled his hands into fists. "Hold on, princess. Your knights are coming to protect you", he vowed solemnly. "Quick, Steiner! There's no time to waste!", Beatrice said urgently. The two knights rushed into the secret passage, which closed almost immediately after they entered.

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"C'mon, guys! Hurry up! This way!", yelled Victor, the son and eldest child of Vivi. Behind him his six brothers were struggling to keep up as they all ran through the thick of the onrushing crowd and tried to follow Steiner and Beatrice. Victor did his best to not lose sight of the two knights, having a strong intuition that they would be able to lead him and his brothers to their little sister Viva. _What kind of mess did you get yourself into this time, Viva?_, Victor wondered. He was used to his sister getting into mischief, especially when Princess Nova was around. But this was _way_ out of hand. _I just hope those two are okay_, he thought to himself. He suddenly saw Steiner grab Beatrice and make a sharp right into a hallway. Victor wove through the crowd, almost getting trampled a couple of times, and rushed into the hallway….

"Huh?", Victor said as he entered the small, empty hallway. "Where'd they go?", he wondered aloud, looking for any sign of the two missing knights. His brothers finally rushed into the hallway, each one bumping into the last one. "Hey, Victor? Where's Beatrice and Steiner?", asked Van, the second to oldest. "I…. I don't know", Victor replied, distraught.

"I knew it. We lost them, didn't we?", Vyce, the pessimistic second to youngest, snapped coldly.

"This is not good", Veno, the middle brother, said distressingly. "If we don't find Viva soon, there's no telling what will happen to her."

"Not to mention what will happen to _us_ when father finds out we left her unsupervised", Vaughn, the third oldest, pitched in.

"My, my. How _sentimental_ of you, Vaughn", Vladimir, the third youngest, said sarcastically. "I'm sure Viva would be touched to hear how concerned you are for her safety."

"Eat me", Vaughn snapped back. 

Vash, the youngest brother, didn't say anything. To Victor, who knew Vash as being very talkative, that was a sure sign that he was worried. "Come on, you guys. Keep it together", Victor said, once again assuming the role of leader amongst his siblings. "We gotta stay focused if we're gonna find Viva. Now let's just go back and try pushing our way through the crowd . I know it will be difficult, but I'm sure if we try hard enough…."

"Victor!", yelled a familiar voice from the other end of the hallway. It was their father Vivi, accompanied by the king, the queen, and Regent Eiko, and all four were headed straight for him and his brothers. "Victor! Have you seen your sister and the princess?", Vivi asked his eldest son as he stopped tight in front of him. "Nope. In fact, we were on our way to see if we could find her. We were following Beatrice and Steiner, hoping they could lead us to her, but they ducked into this hallway and just…. disappeared."

"Disappeared?", Zidane repeated, irritated and anxious to get to his daughter. "What do you mean? How can two people just disappear?"

"Like this", Garnet replied as she pushed a button on the wall. Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone but the queen, the wall directly across from them opened up, revealing a secret passageway. "This castle is full of secret passages, in case of emergencies", Garnet explained. "Steiner must have used this one to try to get to the ballroom."

"Not bad", Zidane said. "Well, let's all follow Rusty's example and try and get to the ballroom before it's too late."

"I'll stay here and keep the boys safe", Eiko announced. "No way!", Victor protested. "We wanna go with you guys! We're worried about Viva, too!" "Out of the question", Vivi sharply denied his son's request. "It's too dangerous. You will stay here and help Eiko keep an eye on your brothers. Understood?" Victor exhaled sharply. "Yes sir", he grumbled. "Good", Vivi said, then in a gentler tone, "Don't worry. We'll make sure Viva is safe." And with that Vivi was gone, rushing through the passageway with Zidane and Garnet on their way to find and protect their daughters. _Just hold on, girls_, Zidane thought urgently. _We're on our way._

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"WAAAH!", Nova exclaimed as she leaped back, just barely a second before the antlion's powerful pincers crushed the spot on the ground she was formerly standing on to rubble. "Whoa, this bug is serious!", Nova said tensely. She looked up at the giant bug, starting to get worried. They had been fighting it for nearly ten minutes, and they barely put a scratch on it. If they didn't destroy it soon….

"Nova! We gotta do something or we'll both be killed!", Viva cried, as if she was reading Nova's thoughts. "I know!", Nova replied as she and Viva dodged another one of the antlion's attacks. "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" As the monster roared and prepared to lunge at the girls again, Nova's mind began running through all the battle tactics Beatrice taught her. _I know there's something this creature is vulnerable to_, she thought, desperate for an idea, _any_ idea. _Was it something she said about bugs? No… wait… something she said about large monsters… Yeah! That's it!_ Nova smiled to herself as she recalled an important battle strategy Beatrice taught her not too long ago. This bug was as good as dead.

"Viva!", she yelled at her friend, "I just remembered! Large monsters are extremely vulnerable to ice!"

"O-okay! I got it!", Viva said with a nod. She waved her oak staff at the antlion and a thick whirlwind of ice swirled around the monster's midsection, freezing it from the inside out. The antlion roared in pain and reeled back, hit hard by Viva's fierce blizzard attack. "Woo-hoo! Hit it again, Viva!", Nova yelled triumphantly. Viva repeated her attack and the monster roared in agony yet again, this time louder. It then fell forward on the ground with a loud, gigantic crash and started breathing heavily.

"Yeah! Good work softening him up, Viva!", Nova crowed, victory dancing in her eyes. "Now, time for me to take him out!" The princess rushed forward, ready to skewer the beast with her daggers. _This wasn't too difficult after all_, she thought to herself. _And to think I was starting to worry. Bah!_ She couldn't wait till she could tell her mother and father how she and Viva slew an antlion and saved the people in the palace ballroom all by themselves. They'd be heroes! Unfortunately for her though, things wouldn't actually work out the way she planned, for as she reached the antlion and prepared to kill it, the monster moved it's massive head sharply to the right, slamming into the side of her full force and sending her sliding on her back across the floor, dazed, breathless, and surprised.

"W-whoa", Nova said dizzily as she struggled to get up. "Any-anybody get the license of that giant chocobo?" _"Nova! Look out!"_, she heard Viva scream. Without taking the time to look, Nova dove to the side, just barely missing being crushed by the huge pincers of the antlion. She rolled to her feet and whirled to face the beast, not wanting to ever give the creature a chance to get that close again. But by that time the monster was roaring again, this time in pain as Viva let loose with another blizzard attack.

"Take _that_, you big bug!", Viva yelled. _Whoa. You _go_, Viva_, Nova thought, impressed, as she watched her best friend in action. The antlion was less impressed and more pissed off, however, as it whipped it's massive head around to stare hatefully at Viva. The young black mage froze as the beast glared at her, petrified in fear.

"N-n-n-nova?", Viva stammered as she gazed, terrified, into the eyes of the antlion.

"Hang on, Viva! I'm coming!", Nova yelled as she rushed towards her friend. She knew that she wouldn't be able to kill the antlion before it attacked and killed Viva. She had to get Viva out of there. Just before she got halfway to Viva, she saw the antlion begin lunging forward…. _"No! Viva!"_, Nova screamed, panic-stricken. She had dragged her friend into this battle. And now, because of her, she was going to watch Viva die. A burning sensation of fear and rage boiled up within her and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Before she knew it, she was right under the antlion, spinning and whirling her daggers in lethal fashion as she swiftly and effortlessly carved the antlion under it's head. She was so full of burning adrenaline she couldn't even hear the antlion roar in pain and surprise as she followed up with a tornado-like whirlwind attack upward where it's throat was.

The monster pulled speedily back and disappeared down into the hole it had entered the ballroom through. Nova ran over to the hole and peered down into it, looking for any sign of the antlion. There was no trace of it. _Whoa! Did I scare it away? I'm a bigger badass than I thought!_, thought Nova with pride. "Nova! W-what happened to you?", Viva said, alarmed. "Are you… are you feeling alright?" "Huh?", Nova said as she looked at her friend, confused. "What do you mean?" "Look at yourself!", was Viva's reply. Nova looked down at her body…

"What the _hell_?", she exclaimed as she held up her arms in front of her, which were now glowing with a bright, colorful light, as was the rest of her body. She was glowing from the top of her head to the tip of her fuzzy tail. "What… is _this_?", she asked in alarm.

"It is called '_trance_'", said a dark voice. Both girls turned and saw the same mysterious cloaked man they'd met earlier in the throne room heading their way. "Only the mightiest of warriors can achieve it", the strange man continued. "It's a special sort of reflex that kicks in during battle, giving the warrior unmeasured strength and stamina, as well as limitless power." The man then tore off his cloak and threw it to the side, revealing a fair-featured young man with silvery-white, feathery hair and ice-blue eyes. He wore an elegant white suit decorated with wicked-looking black shoulder pads, had on a black cape, and those same spike-tipped black boots Nova saw before. But the most notable feature to Nova was the brown monkey-like tail the man had growing out of his rear end; a tail that, despite being a darker shade of brown, very much resembled hers and her father's. "Allow me to introduce myself", the man said with a sweeping bow. "I am Kuja."

"Kuja? _The_ Kuja?", Viva said, incredulously. "Yes, yes. The same. I assume your parents have already told you about me?", Kuja said pleasantly. Nova and Viva looked at each other, not believing what they were hearing. She and Nova had heard tales about Kuja all around Alexandria; about how he had almost destroyed the world and life itself and how their parents fought and defeated him. Kuja was said to have died in the battle, yet here stood someone claiming to be that very same man. Nova almost didn't believe him, but then she remembered her father once told her that he and Kuja were of the same species of people from the same world; Terra, a parallel world to their planet Gaia. And this guy _did_ have a tail…

"W-what are you doing here? What do you want?", Nova asked as she got into a fighting stance, preparing to battle Kuja if she had to and hoping and praying she _didn't_ have to. Because if the stories about his massive power were even halfway true, she could be in for a big hurt if Kuja wanted to start something. Especially since her 'trance' power had just dissipated, leaving her the same super-powerless girl she was before she had it. "Do not fret, I am not here to play the villain in this drama. Quite the contrary, in fact. I am here to assist you in your role", Kuja said with a smile that did not reassure Nova at all.

"Drama? Role? What the hell are you talking about?", Nova asked without dropping her battle stance.

"Man, this guy sure is weird", Viva said as she scratched her head and looked at Kuja.

"Ah! Thank you!", Kuja said with another bow. "A great master of drama such as myself takes being called weird as a compliment. Hmm… now where were we? Ah, yes. I was just about to kill the antlion for you."

Nova snickered. "Yeah, right", she replied. "Like I needed your help. Besides, aren't you a bit late to play the cavalry? Viva and I already ran that overgrown slug with an attitude off…" Nova stopped talking as she began to feel the ground underneath her feet shake. "You have _got_ to be kidding me", Nova said, alarmed. "I-it's back?", Viva cried, not believing it herself. As if to answer Viva's question, the antlion made it's second entrance into the ballroom the same way it did the first time; by bursting up through the hole in the floor with a loud roar.

"Stand back, princess", Kuja said as he stepped forward. "I'll take care of this." The antlion dove for Kuja, enraged to the point where it really didn't seem to care whom it killed, just so long as it killed something. Kuja didn't seem to be worried at all. He merely waved his arms at the antlion, and Nova and Viva cried out and shielded their eyes from the bright red and white light that ensued. As they covered their eyes they heard a deafeningly loud explosion coming from where the antlion was. The entire palace rumbled for about thirty seconds…

"You can look now, princess", Nova heard Kuja's voice say. "The big bug is now worm food." The girls uncovered their eyes. "Whoa!", Viva said as she and Nova gaped at the charred, ashy remains of the antlion, an unfortunate victim of Kuja's most powerful magic attack, flare. "Okay, I'll admit it. That kicked ass", Nova concurred. She then turned to face Kuja. "Um… thank you for your help", she said, "But, well, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Go ahead", Kuja said with a nod. "Are you here because you knew an antlion was going to attack the palace?", she asked, a suspicious ring to the tone of her voice. "Actually, yes, I am", Kuja replied. "You see, your life, my princess, has been targeted by evil incarnate. That is why I am here. My role in this drama is to take you away from here and prepare you to grasp your destiny. The future of your world depends on you."

_"What?"_, Nova said, confused. "Wanna run that by me again?" Before Kuja could reply, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the south wall moving to the side, revealing a secret doorway. And out through the doorway rushed Steiner and Beatrice. The two knights stopped short when they saw whom the princess was talking to. Steiner's jaw almost dropped to the floor as he stared in shock. Then he began to shake with uncontrolled anger. _Uh-oh_, Nova thought. _Here it comes…_

**_"KUJA!"_**, Steiner bellowed, enraged. "What are you doing here? Are you responsible for this mess? What are you doing with the princess? I swear, if you have harmed her…"

"Well, if it isn't the King and Queen's favorite bodyguard-in-a-can", Kuja said with a smirk. "_And_ the little woman that likes to pretend she's a knight", he nodded towards Beatrice. "How have you been?"

'Princess! Viva! Come over here, quick!", Beatrice yelled, anxious to get the princess away from Kuja.

"Oh, I'm afraid not", Kuja stated. He raised his hands and a circular wall of light surrounded him, Nova, and Viva. Steiner and Beatrice rushed towards them with their swords drawn, ready to defend their princess. When they hit Kuja's wall of light, however, they were blasted back by a mighty force. "Auuurgh!", the knights cried out as their backs hit the ground and they slid backwards on the floor. Nova whirled to face Kuja, her pulse pounding.

"What do you think you're doing?", she yelled angrily. Kuja didn't answer her. Instead, he put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. A few seconds after he did that they all heard a mighty roar.

"W-what was that?", Viva asked, fearfully. "Another monster?"

"Nope", Kuja replied with a smile. "It's our transportation." Right after he said that a massive silver-white dragon burst through the ceiling of the ballroom. Folding in it's huge, colorful wings, it dove straight for Kuja and landed right at his side. The girls watched in awe as Kuja gently petted the beast on it's nose. Kuja then mounted the dragon as anybody would a horse. 'Let us go, princess", Kuja said, holding out a hand towards Nova. "Destiny awaits."

"There is no way I'm getting on that thing", Nova said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere with you." Kuja shook his head sadly. "Oh dear, I was hoping we could prevent making a scene here", he said dejectedly. "But I guess it can't be helped. Dragon?" As if on cue, the silver-white dragon moved it's head down towards Nova… "Aaaaaah!", the princess screamed as the dragon grabbed her and she found herself dangling helplessly by her tail from the dragon's mouth. Her garnet necklace fell off of her neck. "My necklace!", she cried as the birthday present she got from her mother hit the ground.

_"Nova!"_, Viva, Steiner, and Beatrice all yelled at the same time. "Come! Let us fly!", Kuja said, gesturing dramatically towards the heavens. The dragon spread it's wings…

"Oh, no you don't!", Viva yelled bravely. She jumped onto the thick of the dragon's tail just before the beast jumped up into the air with a loud cry. **_"NO!"_**, Steiner yelled desperately. But there was nothing he could do. The dragon carrying Kuja, Nova, and Viva flew upwards, out the hole it made in the ceiling and out of sight.

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"I think this is it!", Queen Garnet said as she, King Zidane, and Vivi ran through the passage up to a lever in the wall. She reached up and pulled the lever and the wall beside it slid open, revealing the ballroom. "Come on!", Zidane said. The three ran out of the passage, and were justifiably dismayed by what they saw. The ballroom was in shambles. There were massive holes in both the ceiling and the floor, and there was rubble everywhere. And in the middle of the room stood Steiner and Beatrice, looking dejectedly up at the heavens through the hole in the ceiling.

"Steiner! Beatrice! Where's…?", Garnet began, then stopped and paled slightly when she saw what Steiner was holding in his hand. It was the garnet necklace she had given her daughter earlier that day. And the sad looks on the knights' faces didn't help at all. "M-my baby!", Garnet yelled. "W-where's my baby?"

"Gone", Steiner said woefully. "He took her away."

"What? _WHO_?", Zidane yelled, panic-stricken. "_Who_ took her away?"

"Kuja", Beatrice spat out venomously. "That bastard just showed up out of the blue and snatched the princess. He flew off with her on his silver dragon."

"Kuja?", Garnet and Zidane said in unison. "B-but I thought Kuja was dead!", Garnet said, not believing what she was hearing.

"So did we", Beatrice replied. "Apparently we were wrong. And our error has cost us dearly."

"Wait a minute, where's Viva?", Vivi asked, looking around for his daughter. "Did Kuja take her too?"

"I'm afraid so, Master Vivi", Steiner said unhappily. "Kuja had put up a force field so we couldn't reach him and stop him from taking the princess. Viva was on the inside of the force field, however, and jumped onto the dragon's tail, trying to stop Kuja. It was to no avail though. The dragon flew up into the air and carried both girls away." Vivi looked horrified at the news. "So, Kuja's alive", he said slowly. "And he has our children."

"_Why_? What does he _want_ with them?", Garnet asked tearfully. Zidane reached over and embraced his wife, comforting her. "I don't know, Dagger", he said, calling her by the assumed name he'd help her come up with years ago. "But I promise you, I'm going to get them back. Count on it." 


	3. Chapter Three

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
by: Amisha N. Smith

**

_Aw, man! First off, let me say I'm sorry it took me so long to finally add this chapter! It's just that I've barely had time to work on it, what with college and my job and other stuff like that. But now, what with this semester being over, I've got some free time on my hands! Woo-hoo! I'd better do some more work on this before I decide to go to King's Island! And now, my fellow FFIX fans, let's get on with the story…._

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
Chapter Three**

_I am gonna die. I am gonna die. I am **so** gonna die._

Viva's eyes were shut tight as she held on for dear life to the tail of the dragon that carried her, Nova, and Kuja higher into the sky and farther away from Alexandria. She willed herself not to open her eyes, because she was afraid of heights and had a feeling that if she did see how high up she was she'd probably faint. She hadn't been this scared since the time she and Nova snuck out of Alexandria together to go exploring in the petrified forest and ran into a wild ochu on the way there. She and Nova probably would have been plant food for the huge, poison-pollen spewing beast if her big brother Victor hadn't caught up to them and used a fira spell to torch the monster. But her big brother wasn't here to rescue them right now. In fact, _none_ of her family was here. It was just her, her best friend, and their extremely strange kidnapper.

_**"LET ME GO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"**_, Viva heard Nova yell as she still dangled, defenseless, from the jaws of Kuja's dragon. "Oh _my_, such _language_", Kuja replied in a calm and amused voice. "_Very_ unbecoming of a princess. You kiss you mother with that mouth?" _"Kiss my ass!"_, Nova spat back. Kuja answered with a low chuckle and a surge of anger went through Viva. Almost forgetting her fear, _almost_, she drew her oak staff and slowly inched her way up to where the dragon's tail met it's rear end. She was fiercely determined that, no matter what, she was going to save her friend from this lunatic. Viva pointed her staff at Kuja's back and let loose with a thunder spell. But just as she released the spell the dragon's tail flicked abruptly to the left, throwing off her aim and causing the thunderbolt to fly harmlessly past Kuja's head. Kuja whirled, startled and alarmed, to see who his attacker was.

"Why, you sneaky little oglop!", Kuja said in a surprised voice when he saw Viva. "How on Gaia did you manage to get there?"

"I wouldn't w-worry about t-that, if I were you", Viva manages to stutter fearfully yet angrily. "Y-you land this dragon r-r-right _now_, Kuja!"

_"Viva?"_, Nova said in shock when she heard her friend's voice. She turned her head and saw Viva facing Kuja on the dragon. "Whoa, Viva! Are you a sight for sore eyes!", Nova said, happy to see her buddy.

"Hang on, Nova! I'll g-get him to let you go!", Viva replied. She then turned her attention back on Kuja. "I said land this d-d-dragon. _Now_", she demanded. Nova was impressed. Viva was clearly terrified, yet also willing to stand up to Kuja. _She's got way more nerve than I ever gave her credit for_, Nova thought to herself. 

"And what, pray tell, will you do if I don't respond to your demands?", Kuja folded his arms and inquired with a smirk. "Will you attack me and risk startling the dragon? That might be very bad for your friend. If my dragon opens his mouth so much as an inch, Princess Nova will plummet hundreds of feet to her death. Is _that_ what you'd like to have on your conscience?" Viva looked at Nova, then glared at Kuja, then lowered her staff, defeated. "Yes, a very wise choice indeed, my gutsy little hitchhiker", Kuja said triumphantly as he turned back around. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

"You'll have to land sometime", Viva said defiantly. "And when you do, I'll attack."

"Well, that's just a bridge we'll have to burn when we get to it, won't we?", Kuja replied, calm as ever. Viva sat down on the dragon's back, stewing in anger and resentment. But she was no where near as angry as Nova was. _I swear Kuja, when I get down from here_, she thought maliciously, _I'm gonna use my daggers to slowly carve my initials on your balls._

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King Zidane sat in the head chair of the oval-shaped strategy room, brooding and anxious. His brow was furrowed and he stroked his beard in deep troubled thought. _Why, Kuja? Why are you doing this?_, Zidane wondered. He remembered years ago when he was at the root of the huge lifa tree, trying to save Kuja from an impending end. Before then, Kuja had been his fiercest and most dangerous enemy. But at that moment, when he lay dying under the lifa tree, Kuja seemed to have learned the error of his ways and even repented his past sins, saying that he had finally learned the value of life. It was then that one of the collapsing roots of the lifa tree had slammed into them, striking them hard and sending them both falling beneath the earth to almost certain death. Zidane recalled that Kuja had used up the last of his remaining power to keep the root from squashing them both, then turned his head and took his last breath. Zidane remembered that Kuja's last act in life was giving him a chance to live his.

Or so Zidane had thought.

_How did you survive?_, Zidane thought to himself. _And why did you return only to snatch my daughter away from me? What are you plotting now, Kuja?_

"Your Majesty?", Beatrice's voice cut into his thoughts. Zidane looked up to see everyone else at the huge, round wooden meeting table looking at him. Zidane quickly sat up and cleared his throat. "Um, ah-hrm, sorry about that", he apologized as he rubbed his temples. "Your Majesty, I know you're worried", Beatrice said in a sympathetic yet slightly firm voice, "But you must stay focused, for the sake of the princess." "I _know_", Zidane replied, his irritation and fear evident in his voice. Garnet, who was sitting at his right side, reached over and squeezed his hand, trying to comfort him. It was at that instant that Zidane decided to pull himself together, for his wife's sake. After all, she was as worried sick about their daughter as he was. And if _she_ can hold it together…

"Okay, what were you saying?", Zidane asked Beatrice, sitting up straight in his chair. Beatrice nodded. "I was saying that Steiner and I have already deployed knights all over Alexandria's territory and beyond, searching for any sign of Kuja and the children", she informed. "They are searching by airship, boat, and chocobo all over the land."

"And I have contacted my mother and father and I even got hold of Freya in New Burmecia", Eiko added. "They've all been briefed on the situation, and right now Freya is on her way here on board the Hilda Guarde. She should be arriving very soon."

"Good, good", Zidane said. "But shouldn't we be out looking for them too?" "We… thought it would be wise, your Majesty, to wait here for word from anyone who has seen them", Steiner suggested. Zidane sighed and began rubbing his temples again. "I don't know about that, Steiner", Zidane replied irritably. "Just sitting here twiddling our thumbs and waiting for news? Our _kids_ are out there, with that _madman_. How can you expect us just to…"

"Zidane", Vivi interrupted from his left, "I know how you feel. My daughter is out there too. But what can we really accomplish by going out and blindingly searching for them? We don't even know which direction Kuja flew off in. Besides, we've already told the knights to inform us if they happen to find Kuja and the girls. How will they be able to do that if we're out running around searching for three needles in a haystack?" Zidane's brow furrowed and his shoulders slightly slumped. From Zidane, that was a true sign of relent. Garnet nodded her thanks to Vivi. "Vivi is right", she announced. "We have to stay as calm and clearheaded as possible. Acting out rashly is a sure way to make mistakes. And right now we really can't afford to make any mistakes." At that second the door to the strategy roomed opened and two armored guards walked in and saluted Zidane and Garnet. "Your Majesties, Freya Crescent has arrived", they announced loudly. They both parted the doorway and in with a swirl of her blood-red cloak rushed Zidane's old friend Freya, the most powerful Dragoon Knight of the rat-like race of people of New and Old Burmecia. "Garnet! Zidane! I have news!", she exclaimed. "Three of the knights I've sent to scout the eastern side have sent back a report! They said they've seen two people riding a silver dragon in the skies in that direction, and the description of one of them fits that of a small black mage!" At that news, everyone shot up from their seats.

"A-are you sure?", Vivi asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yes!", Freya replied. "And the dragon was also reported to have been carrying what seemed to be a third person in it's mouth!"

"That sounds like the princess!", Steiner snarled. "Kuja had his cursed dragon pick her up in it's mouth before he took off with her! Damn him! When I get my hands on…"

"Let's focus on finding them first", Beatrice reprimanded. "We can save the hostilities for _after_ we catch up to Kuja and save the kids."

"I second that notion", Zidane said. Then he turned to his wife. "So what are we waiting for, Dagger? Let's all board the Hilda Guarde and go get the girls!"

Garnet nodded. "Yes, and let's teach that baby-snatching Kuja a lesson while we're at it", she added in an icy and dangerous voice as they all rushed out of the meeting room on their way to the airship dock.

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"Hey, shit-heel! Where the hell are you taking me?", Nova yelled angrily back at Kuja as she still dangled from the jaws of his dragon.

"To your destiny, my potty-mouthed princess", Kuja replied calmly. "And it's just too bad your destiny isn't in a charm school."

"Yeah, well how much longer before we get to my _destiny_?", Nova snarled. "Your flying lizard's breath is starting to corrode my outfit!"

"Just what do you mean by 'destiny'?", Viva asked Kuja. "What do you want with Nova anyway?" "My part in this act is to escort her to her destiny", Kuja replied. "You see, her fate is to save this world from destruction." Viva's eyes grew wide. "W-what do you mean?", she asked fearfully. "You will see for yourself soon enough". Kuja answered gravely.

"He doesn't mean anything, Viva!", Nova yelled. "He's completely insane! He's probably an escapee from a psych ward somewhere!" At that, Kuja chuckled. "Perhaps I _am_ a tad insane", he said, amused. "It would definitely explain a lot. But make no mistake, princess. I meant every word I said. This planet is in serious danger, and it is your burden and your duty to protect it. For it is now being threatened by evil imaginable. Evil that you will eventually have to face…" Suddenly Kuja went abruptly silent. He leaned forward and sat intensely still, as if listening for something. That, of course, made Viva jittery. "What? What is it?", she asked in a nervous voice.

"Buzzing", Kuja replied, looking off into the distance. "Like the sound of many insects. Coming from ahead." Nova followed Kuja's gaze and looked forward at the horizon beyond. But she didn't see any insects. In fact, all she really saw was clouds. She was about to write what Kuja said off as nothing but more ranting from a madman when she too began to hear the buzzing, very faint and far off in the distance. "Uh… Nova", she heard Viva say gingerly. "Yeah, I hear it too", Nova said, getting as nervous as her friend was. "What could it be?", Kuja wondered out loud. "We're a bit high up to run into a swarm of any kind of insect." They were all silent for the next two minutes as the buzzing noise grew louder, as if whatever was making it was rapidly getting closer. Then Nova suddenly saw the sky ahead of them was practically covered by a huge mass of dark shapes hovering far in the horizon.

"W-what the heck is that?", Viva said, terrified. Nova said nothing. She continued to look hard at the shapes that seemed to be growing larger by the second; a sure sign that whatever they were, they were definitely getting closer. She kept peering until she could finally make out one of the approaching shapes. To her horror, it looked like a giant, flying praying mantis. It's wings beat the air at rapid speed and it's two fore claws swiped at the air towards them, each one looking for all the world like the scythe of death.

_"Abadon!"_, Kuja yelled, identifying the bizarre insect-like creatures. "They knew we were headed this way! They must be soul snatchers, sent by the Acolytes for our souls!"

_"Eh?"_, Nova said, confused, just before Kuja's dragon did a sudden nose dive towards the forest hundreds of feet below them. _"Yaaaaahhhhh!"_, both girls yelled out in fear and shock as they plummeted downward, getting nearer and nearer to the treetops below them. Nova closed her eyes and braced herself as the dragon plunged through the thick treetops and flew forward through the woods, trunks going past them at blinding speed and getting lower and closer to the ground as the dragon prepared itself to land. Finally the dragon put it's claws down and dug into the earth, bringing itself to an almost abrupt but somehow graceful stop in the thick of the woods. Kuja immediately jumped down off the back of his dragon and looked skyward, to see if the swarm of abadon had seen them enter the forest and decided to follow. A few seconds went by and when he still didn't see or hear any abadon he was satisfied that they were safe.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?", Kuja asked as he turned to speak with Viva and was startled to see she was no longer atop his dragon. "Let her go this instant!", he heard her voice demand from near the dragon's head. He looked and was highly amused to see the young black mage had grasped Princess Nova by her hands and was trying unsuccessfully to pull her free from the jaws of his dragon. "Ow! Hey, take it easy Viva!", Nova protested. "What are ya trying to do? Pull me in half?" Kuja just smiled and shook his head. He then snapped his fingers and the dragon immediately opened it's mouth, freeing Nova and causing both girls to tumble backwards on the ground. "Well now, is everyone okay?", Kuja asked pleasantly.

Nova and Viva jumped to their feet and faced Kuja. "We're just fine, which is more than I'll be able to say about you in a moment", Nova said coldly as she drew her twin moon daggers.

"Oh my", Kuja said in a calm and amused voice as he watched the princess unsheathe her weapons. "And what on Gaia do you plan to do with those?"

"Rearrange your internal organs", Nova replied in a dark voice. "Is that so?", Kuja replied, cool as ever. "And after you're done killing me, then what? Are you going to just _walk_ home from here? You don't even know in which direction your precious castle is from this location. In fact, you don't even know where _you_ are, do you?" "We'll manage", Nova snapped defiantly. "Oh really?", Kuja said mockingly. "And what about all the monsters that are currently after your royal hide? Just how long do you think it will take that swarm of abadon up there to realize that you're hiding in this forest, hmm?" As if on reflex, both girls looked up and scanned the treetops nervously. Kuja grinned, realizing he almost had them. "Make no mistake, princess", he continued. "When that swarm of killer super-locusts find out you're hiding from them in these woods, and believe me they _will_, they'll be all over these woods like a behemoth on a slab of ham. And when they find you, they'll finish what that antlion started when it invaded your palace earlier."

"Wait a sec", Viva interrupted, "Up there in the sky you said something about the bugs being sent by apple lights, or something like that. What did you mean?"

"_Acolytes_", Kuja corrected her with a nod. "And yes, the bugs were sent here by them to steal mine and Princess Nova's souls."

"What the hell are you talking about?", Nova snapped, irritated. "You're not making any sense! Just spell it _out_ already, you nut! What the hell is going on? Why have you brought me here? Who are these 'acolytes' and why are they supposedly sending all these damn bugs to kill me?"

"Calm down, your royal loudness", Kuja reprimanded. "Seeing as how we're currently trying _not_ to be found by vicious monsters, what say we keep the yelling to a minimum, hmm?" Kuja calmly pulled a small compass out of his pocket. "Now, which way is east?", he wondered as he held it out in front of him. "Ah! This way!" He put his compass back in his pocket and turned to face the girls. "If you wish, I can explain everything to you. But not while we're standing here. If we stay in one spot in this forest, we'll be sitting ducks for that swarm of abadon for sure, as well as any other monster the acolytes may have sent after us. Come, we'll talk while we're on the move." He then turned, gave a shrill whistle, and started walking eastward. The silver-white dragon, obviously responding to it's master's whistle, started after Kuja. The girls stood rooted and watched him for a moment.

"What do you think, Viva? Is this guy telling the truth? Or did he just overdose on crazy pills this morning?", Nova asked her best friend.

"Well… it _is_ highly strange that you're being attacked by so many monsters in one day", Viva replied. "And he _did_ help us out, a little. This may sound crazy, but maybe we should follow him and see for ourselves? And of course, you could always look at it this way: If he's right, and someone _is_ sending monsters after you, then you'll definitely want to know who, why, and if we can stop them. And if he's wrong, and just plain nuts, we can always just overpower him if we have to and escape. Either way, the only true way we'll know for sure what's going on is if we follow him." Nova sighed and bowed her head. "I guess you're right", she conceded. "Man, this is turning out to be one hell of a birthday." She then piped up and started walking cheerfully forward. "On the bright side, we may get to fight some more monsters", she said happily. "Come on, Viva! Let's get the lead out!"

"On the _bright_ side?", Viva exclaimed as she followed Nova. "Man, I think you're as nutty as Kuja is!"

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Queen Garnet stood outside on the Hilda Guarde with her arms and elbows resting on the railing on the side of the ship while she gazed at the ground hundreds of feet below, as if scanning the earth for any sign of her daughter. _Where are you?_, she thought anxiously. _Oh, my precious Nova, please be safe._ Tears came to her eyes and a powerful rage welled up within her; the rage a mother gets whenever something is threatening their children. _Kuja, I swear if you've hurt our babies in **any** way, no force on Gaia will be able to protect you from me_, she thought with deadly malice.

"Hey Dagger, are you alright?", her husband's concerned voice came from behind her.

"No, not really", Garnet replied without turning around. Zidane walked up behind her and gently put his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Don't worry, our daughters are strong. Ten times stronger than even _we_ were in the old days", he said supportively. "They're just fine. And we're gonna get 'em back. You'll see. Heck, they're probably kicking Kuja's ass right now." Garnet couldn't help but look up at her husband and smile when he said that. But deep down, she sincerely hoped her daughter didn't try to fight Kuja. She knew how powerful Kuja was. And she _definitely_ knew how impulsive Nova could be, even when the odds are stacked against her. _Especially_ when the odds were stacked against her.

"Hey, what's that?", Zidane suddenly said, peering perplexedly at something to their left. Garnet turned to see what her husband was looking at and saw nothing but a white barrel sitting in a corner behind them on the balcony. Before she could ask her husband what he was talking about she saw the barrel stir ever so slightly. "Eh? What's in there?", Garnet wondered aloud. Zidane didn't reply. Instead he started walking cautiously over to the barrel. He drew his powerful oar-like twin-sided spear-blade, the Ultima Weapon, slowly from the sheath on his back and motioned for Garnet to stay where she was. "Whoever you are, you'd better come out of there. Slowly", he growled threateningly. "Don't make me have to cut the barrel in half."

"Okay, okay. Take it easy", a weasely voice replied from within the barrel. The top of the barrel popped off and out jumped a short kid that wore a red cap and colorful, flamboyant clothing, had the same rat-like features as Freya, and was about one and a half the size of the barrel. "Hiya, guys! Long time, no see!", the young rat said with a smile and a wave.

"Puck?", Zidane exclaimed, instantly recognizing the mischievous wandering king of New Burmecia. It had been years since he'd last seen Puck. Back then, Puck was just a kid; a mischievous prince always running away from home and his father to find adventure. After the tree-town of Cleyra was destroyed, along with Puck's father and most of his people, it was believed the young prince was dead as well. But years later he showed up in Old Burmecia while Freya, her love Sir Fratley, and a few other Dragoon Knights were working hard to rebuild Burmecia. The prince stayed and helped rebuild the town, most likely because he had no other place to call home, and when they were finished he was eventually hailed as the new king. But his behavior is anything but that of a royal leader, as he is constantly wandering off seeking adventure and Freya keeps having to go out and find him (usually just in the nick of time, for he is always getting into danger he can't get himself out of) and bring him back. "What are you doing here?", Zidane asked, folding his arms and looking sternly at Puck.

"Hey, man! Is that any way to treat an old friend?", Puck protested, feigning hurt feelings. "I heard your kids were snatched and I thought I'd come help you un-snatch 'em! Besides", he raised one eyebrow slyly, "it's not every day you get to play hero for a hottie like Princess Nova. Rrrawrr!" Before Zidane could give a retort, Garnet stepped forward.

"You _do_ know that when Freya sees you here, she's gonna have a baby", she warned.

"Ah, don't you worry about ol' Freya", Puck replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I can handle her. Besides, I've been practicing like crazy with my sword just in case a chance for an adventure like this ever came up. And when she sees how skillful I've gotten, she'll not only be happy I'm here, she'll want to bring me along on _all_ her adventures from now on."

"Don't bet on it", a steely voice said behind him. Puck froze. With a gulp, he turned and saw Freya standing in the doorway to the balcony, her arms folded and a very unhappy expression on her face. "Uhh… H-Hiya, Freya", Puck said gingerly. "I was looking all over the ship for ya! How ya doing?" "King Puck!", Freya began angrily. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! You _must_ stop sneaking out of New Burmecia! Can't you at least _try_ to be responsible for once?"

"Hey, I can help out!", Puck protested. "I'm a lot stronger than I used to be! Why don't you just give me a chance! I won't be a burden! I promise!"

"King Puck, this is not a game!", Freya countered, still furious with her monarch. "Don't you understand? There is a chance we will all be in very real danger!"

"Man, you ain't kidding!", Zidane said in disbelief as he pointed at something in the sky. "Check it out!" All four of them looked and were awe-stricken and horrified at what they saw. Abadon. Seemingly hundreds of them, littering the sky. "What the hell? What are they all doing here?", Puck wondered out loud. "Abadon don't usually fly so high into the sky."

"They look like they're searching for something", Garnet said. Suddenly a thought hit her and she felt as if a hand made of ice had gripped her heart. "Y-you don't think Kuja and the girls ran into them, do you?", she asked her husband, panic-stricken. Zidane opened his mouth as if to answer, but no sound came out. A huge lump had formed in his throat. He had been thinking the exact same thing. Suddenly a large group of the insects in the center of the swarm moved to the side as down from the clouds descended an abadon that was at least three times the size of any of the others. "Look at that giant", Freya said half to herself. The three of them watched as the giant abadon chattered something in it's high-pitched jittery language to the other insects. It then started descending downward.

"Where's it going?", Freya wondered aloud.

"It looks like it's headed…", Puck said as his eyes followed the giant abadon, "…There! For that forest down there!" They looked and, sure enough, the big bug was headed for a huge stretch of forest below them. "Why is it going there?", Garnet asked. "Do you think our kids are down there? Is that it? Is it after Nova and Viva?" "If it is, we'll just have to land this ship and get to them before it does", Zidane said determinedly. "Let's go tell the captain to land! And let's have our weapons ready when we disembark"

"Uh… guys?", Puck said in an extremely nervous voice as he pointed forward. "I… uh… think we have a problem." And indeed he was right. The huge swarm of abadon had now turned their attention entirely on the Hilda Guarde. They looked hostilely at the ship, waving their scythe-like claws. Their buzzing grew increasingly louder and louder…

"Quickly! Get inside the ship!", Freya yelled as she grabbed her king by his arm and dragged him inside the Hilda Guarde. The four of them ran inside and closed and sealed the door just as the ship began shaking as loud banging noises ensued from outside. "They're attacking!", Zidane exclaimed. "Looks like that swarm doesn't want us following their queen! We'll have to deal with them before we can get to that forest! And quickly, before they tear this ship apart!" The four friends rushed towards the bridge, prepared to give a counter-attack the abadon would not live to regret. _If those damn bugs want a fight, they've got one_, Zidane thought menacingly. _They've come to the right place at the wrong time._

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"Hey, Kuja!", Nova said as she fought to keep up with her strange kidnapper. "You said you'd explain everything while we were walking! So, like, what's keeping you?"

"Just a little farther, princess", Kuja replied. "Right now, we have to concentrate on putting as much distance between us and the abadon as we can. Once we're at a safe enough distance away, then we'll talk." "Humph", was Nova's only reply. But she knew he was right. They had to get as far away as they could, as fast as they could. Suddenly, after a few more minutes of traveling in silence, a huge shadow seemed to fall upon them from above. "Huh?", Nova said as she looked skyward. "What the hell…?"

"Look out!", Kuja yelled as dove for the princess, knocking her out of the way just in time. A huge, scaly green mantis claw swooped down and stabbed a deep hole in the earth where Nova was formerly standing. Viva screamed and Nova and Kuja looked up in horror at the unbelievably huge abadon that now hovered menacingly before them. "W-w-whoa", Nova said in awe. "It would seem that we have a problem", Kuja observed as he looked up at the huge insect. "A-are we gonna have to fight it?", Viva managed to squeak out. "Of course we have to fight it", Kuja replied, already getting into a battle stance. 'Either that or we let it kill us. Ready yourselves, girls!"

Nova and Viva looked at each other, Viva shaking in fear and Nova shaking with excitement and adrenaline. The girls then got up, drew their weapons, and stood at Kuja's side, facing their monstrous enemy. The abadon roared and readied itself to attack. Kuja, Nova, and Viva prepared themselves as well. Their second major battle was officially under way.


	4. Chapter Four

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
by: Amisha N. Smith

**

_Heh heh, how many of you are enjoying this as much as I am? Finally, time for some real action! Two battles happening at once! Let the mayhem commence! Aw, why the hell am I wasting your time with this introduction? Let's do this, already!_

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
Chapter Four**

Zidane fought to keep his balance as the Hilda Guarde shook uncontrollably under the vicious onslaught of the abadon swarm. Garnet grabbed onto his arm as she too fought to stay on her feet. Zidane knew that she had to be terrified; not just for them, but for their daughter as well. If the abadon swarm killed them here, who would be left to rescue their daughter from Kuja? _"Whoooaaaaaahhh!"_, King Puck exclaimed as he lost his balance and rolled forward on the ground for four feet before slamming head-first into a wall. "Ow", he said weakly as he fell on his back.

"Your majesty!", Freya cried as she rushed to her monarch's side. She gently lifted him from the ground. "Are you alright?", she asked in a concerned voice.

"Y-yeah", Puck replied with a withered smile. "Don't worry, Freya. I didn't hurt myself. I'm lucky I only hit my head." Suddenly the door on the far side of the wall burst open and in rushed Steiner, flanked by half a dozen knights. "Your majesties! We are under attack!", he yelled urgently.

"Oh, ya _think_?", Zidane snapped sarcastically.

"Quick! Man the cannons!", Garnet commanded. "Blast those cockroaches out of the sky!" Steiner saluted and he and his knights ran to the turrets on the side of the ship. "Hey, wait for me!", Puck called out as he ran after the knights, only to be abruptly stopped by Freya grabbing his arm.

"Just where do you think _you're_ going?", Freya asked Puck sternly.

"To help out with the cannons!", Puck replied. "C'mon, even _I_ can handle something like that!"

"Out of the question!", Freya snapped. "You will stay by my side. Understand?" Puck folded his arms and began to sulk. "Why does everyone else but _me_ get to do all the cool stuff?", he pouted.

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"Quickly! Step it up, girls!", Beatrice commanded as she helped the female knights load the cannons on the west side of the ship. "We must get rid of those abadon as quickly as possible! The king and queen are counting on us and the princess needs us!" When the last shell was finally loaded the women took their positions behind the canons. "Okay! Target wherever you think your shot will do the most damage!", Beatrice said. "Let's try to take out as many of those bugs as we can in one shot! Get ready! Aim!…

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_"Fire!"_, yelled Steiner. The male knights on the east side of the ship immediately opened fire with their cannons, taking out a substantial number of the abadon on their first shot. "Good work, men!", Steiner said, taking pleasure in seeing so many abadon literally explode and fall from the sky. He heard explosions erupting from the other side of the ship and knew his fiancée was taking care of business from the turrets on the west side. _Go get 'em, Beatrice! Give them hell!_, Steiner thought with a smile.

"Sir! We're reloading now!", one of the knights reported as he and the other subordinates reloaded their cannons. "Oh! Erm, good!", Steiner said, snapping himself back to attention. "Come on, men! Let's clear these bugs out of here, pronto!" Suddenly a deafeningly loud explosion erupted from outside of the Hilda Guarde and the entire ship rumbled and shook "What on Gaia was _that_?", Steiner yelled as he tried to keep his balance.

"Sir! Look!", yelled one of the subordinate knights, pointing upward. Steiner looked up and saw that a giant indent was protruding inward on the sturdy metal side of the ship. "Oh my God!", Steiner said in horror. "They're…"

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"…ramming into the ship! _Suicide_ style!", Beatrice exclaimed as she saw the many indents caused by the abadon willing to give their lives to destroy the Hilda Guarde and everyone in it. "They're actually destroying themselves in order to bring down our ship!"

"Mam! The Hilda Guarde has taken a large amount of damage!", one of the subordinate female knights reported. "We can't take much more!"

"Then get busy!", Beatrice ordered sternly. "Double your efforts! Do whatever you can to blast those cockroaches to hell! We have to destroy them before they destroy _us_!"

"Yes mam!", the knights said in unison as they started firing their cannons. They took out a large number of abadon, but Beatrice knew it wasn't nearly enough, as most of the bugs that were left were charging into the Hilda Guarde, ramming it head-first at full speed. At this rate, their ship would be scrap metal and they will all be dead before long. _This isn't how abadon normally act!_, Beatrice thought to herself. _Abadon rarely attack unless provoked, threatened, or protecting territory, and even then they're seldom so adamant on destroying their enemy that they're willing to deliberately die doing it! This just doesn't make any sense!_ Another loud explosion ensued from somewhere on the ship and the entire bulk of the Hilda Guarde started to tremble wildly. Beatrice closed her eyes and said a sincere, ten second prayer.

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"Whoa!", Zidane cried as he tried his best to stay on his feet. "What was that explosion? It's like the bugs came armed with cannons of their _own_ or something!" Suddenly he saw he was being approached hurriedly by a lone knight. "Uh-oh, here comes the bad news", Puck said with dread.

"Your majesties!", the knight said breathlessly as he stopped in front of Zidane and saluted. "I must request that you and your friends follow me to the royal passenger room! It is no longer safe here!"

"We take it the battle isn't going too well?", Garnet said anxiously.

"I'm afraid not, my queen", the knight replied apologetically. "The abadon are counter-attacking by ramming into our ship at full force! They are destroying themselves and trying to take us down with them!"

"N-no _way_!", Puck said incredulously. "I can't believe it! See, Freya? If _I_ had been allowed to man the turrets, I'd have shredded those bugs long before now!"

"_Enough_, King Puck", Freya snapped. "Sir knight, please show us to the royal passenger room." "Right this way, mam. Follow me", the knight responded. Zidane, Garnet, Freya, and the sulking Puck all began to follow the knight. "Hey, wait a minute", Zidane said as he abruptly stopped. "Where's Vivi?" Everyone looked around and saw the black mage walking swiftly in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Vivi! Not that way!", Zidane called out to him. To the king's astonishment, Vivi just kept right on walking. There was a purposeful gait in his stride, as if he was not only on his way to do something, but he was hell-bent on doing it as well. "Vivi! Where are you going?", Garnet called out.

"To put an end to our bug problem once and for all", Vivi replied as he rounded a corner and was out of sight. His friends looked after him in silence for a few seconds, a silence which Puck broke with a low whistle. "Somethin' tells me that Vivi's about to use his magic to kick some serious bug _boo_-tay!", he said delightedly; just before rushing off in the direction Vivi went.

"Your majesty! Come back here at once!", Freya yelled, knowing even as she said it that her demand would be to no avail. Puck never listened to her

"Not a chance!", Puck replied as he ran off. "There's no way I'm missing this!" Freya growled in utter frustration. "That… that immature… _Aaaurrghhh!_ How on _Gaia_ did we ever agree that he would make a good king?"

"Don't sweat it, Freya", Zidane said reassuringly. "We'll just follow the royal pain-in-the-ass and make sure nothing bad happens to him. Besides, Vivi might need out help, so it's best if we follow him anyway."

"I agree", Garnet replied. "We can't let Vivi face those bugs alone. He may need us at his side. He must feel so desperate right now. All he wants is to get Viva back."

"Yeah, I know the feeling", Zidane said solemnly, thinking about Nova. "Let's just hope Vivi's magic is powerful enough to actually get rid of those stinkin' insects."

"Your majesties! I _must_ protest against this course of action!", the knight pleaded. "It's too dangerous!"

"Noted", Queen Garnet replied in an iron voice. "But we're still going. Vivi's our friend." And with that, Zidane, Garnet, and Freya rushed off to follow Vivi and Puck.

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_Viva's in that forest! That has to be true!_, Vivi thought as he neared the door to the balcony. _That's why they're trying so hard to stop us! They don't want us to find our children!_ Vivi stepped out on the balcony, staff in hand, and glared at the hundreds of abadon surrounding and ramming into their ship. _Well they're not gonna succeed_, he thought with fierce determination. _Nothing's gonna keep us from finding our children! I'll see to that!_ Some of the abadon who discovered Vivi dove straight for him at breakneck speed, screaming their intentions to rip him to shreds. You would never have known by looking at Vivi that the shrieks of the charging abadon chilled him to the bone. The black mage held up his staff and uttered an incantation. His staff began to glow a black light and the skies thundered and grew dark-gray and cloudy. He then waved his staff in one sweeping motion and the skies clapped and roared as seemingly hundreds of huge bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, striking the abadon and making them literally explode into gooey green slime on contact. The abadon seemed to panic. They flew frantically about, many of them crashing into each other, as they tried unsuccessfully to avoid Vivi's powerful thundaga attack. But it was to no avail, for pretty soon even the abadon that gave up and tried to flee were cut down by Vivi's magic, leaving no survivors among them. "Whew", Vivi said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at the skies around the Hilda Guarde and observed with satisfaction that they were, as of now, abadon free. "Glad _that's_ over."

"Holy _crap_", he heard a voice behind him say. Vivi turned around and saw Zidane, Garnet, Freya, and Puck standing behind him, looking at him in amazement. "That… was the most… kick-ass thing I've ever seen", Puck said in wonderment.

Vivi looked down and shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "I… uh… it was nothing", he said, somewhat meekly.

_"Nothing?"_, Zidane said. "You gotta be _kidding_ me! I have to agree with Puck on this one! That kicked all _kinds_ of ass!" Zidane walked over and gave his best friend a playful slap on his back. "Man, I'm glad you're on _our_ side!", he exclaimed with a grin. That only seemed to embarrass Vivi more, and Garnet just shook her head and smiled. Vivi was, hands down, the most powerful known sorcerer in the world. It amazed her that someone with so much power can remain so humble and shy. Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Steiner and Beatrice walking towards them on the balcony.

"All the bugs are gone", Beatrice reported. "They've all been destroyed. We're in the clear."

"Yes, thanks to you, Master Vivi", Steiner added with a respectful salute. "You truly are legendary amongst the mages. Your power knows no rivalry."

Vivi rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, thank you", he replied. "Um… since the bugs are gone, shouldn't we be landing so we can look for Viva and Nova?"

"Yeah!", Zidane replied, suddenly serious as a heart attack. "We'll definitely want to find them before that giant abadon queen does!"

"I've already given the order", Beatrice replied. "The ship is being prepared for landing as we speak."

"Good", Freya said solemnly. "Now we have only two more bugs to deal with; the giant abadon and Kuja."

"Indeed", Queen Garnet said in a voice that could have frozen a sand scorpion. "And I vow that if that villain has done _anything_ to our daughters, I'll make what Vivi did to those abadon look like _nothing_ compared to what I will do to him."

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_"Whoa!"_, Nova cried as she dove to the side, just missing being sliced in half by one of the abadon queen's scythes. She immediately countered by slashing her blade viciously at the abandon's claw, slicing a huge chunk of it off. The abadon reared back and roared in pain. But it's agony was not over yet. Viva followed up Nova's attack by assaulting the bug with a blizzard spell. Her attack hit dead on target, and the abadon roared in pain and rage.

"Ha! This giant grasshopper ain't no threat!", Nova declared, already tasting victory. "Let's just gut the overgrown cockroach and be done with it!"

"Don't be too overconfident, princess", Kuja reprimanded her coolly. "You've barely put a scratch on it. All you've _really_ managed to do is piss it off tremendously."

Nova glared back at Kuja, who was standing behind her and regarding the action with his arms folded. "That's a lotta lip coming from someone who hasn't made a move since the fight began", she snapped. Kuja responded with a chuckle. "I'm just watching to see how well you two can fare in a real battle", he stated.

"Nova! Look out!", Viva yelled. Without taking any time to look, Nova jumped backwards just in time to once again barely miss being cut down by the abandon's claw. "Yikes! That was a little _too_ close!", Nova exclaimed.

"You're far from out of danger, princess", Kuja stated. "If you would just pay attention, you would notice that the abadon is about to use magic." The girls looked at the abadon and saw tiny strings of lightning were starting to crawl all around it's body.

"Oh no! It's about to use thunder!", Viva cried.

"Actually, it looks more like it's about to use thundara", Kuja replied.

_"Take cover!"_, Nova yelled. But it was too late. Even as she screamed a huge bolt of lightning shot forward from the abadon straight for them… and struck nothing but an invisible orb of air that seemed to surround the girls. The invisible orb seemed to shine and absorb the thundara attack that hit it. And as if that didn't stun and confuse the girls enough, the abadon was suddenly hit with what seemed to be a thundara attack just as vicious as the one it tried to hit Nova and Viva with. The abadon queen roared in pain, confusion, and surprise as it spread it's wings, jumped into the air, and took off gliding through the trees. About a minute passed by before Nova finally found her voice.

"Um, what the hell just happened?", she asked, looking at Viva. "I thought for sure we were toast. Didn't that abadon use a thundara spell on us?"

"Yes, it did", Kuja said as he walked over to the girls. "And yes, you _would_ have been toast, if I hadn't saved your cute little asses by casting a reflect spell on the both of you. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson to you about not being overconfident and keeping your eyes on your foe."

"_Bite_ me", Nova snarled angrily. Kuja was really beginning to get on her nerves.

"Um… g-guys?", Viva interrupted. She was pointing upwards and forwards and even her voice was trembling. "I… uh… I think we gotta problem." Kuja and Nova looked in the direction she was pointing and saw the abadon queen was diving down towards them at full speed.

"Don't worry, girls", Kuja said as he stepped confidently forward. "I'll take care of this." He lazily stretched his arms and legs, turned towards his silver dragon, and gave a slight nod. The dragon understood it's master's command. It turned towards the abadon, opened it's mouth, and shot something straight at the bug. A bright flash of light ensued, followed by a large swirling vortex of ice and wind surrounding the abadon queen. The giant insect only had time to halfway scream before it was literally frozen solid. The now-dead monster, still traveling through the air, flew over the heads of Kuja and the girls before crashing into a tree and shattering to tiny frozen bits. Nova and Viva's jaws dropped as they looked at the pieces of their deceased foe littering the ground, thanks to the dragon's deadly blizzaga attack. "Well, that's that", Kuja said as he petted his dragon proudly. "Now we can hopefully continue our journey unimpeded."

"Wow! That was _awesome_!", Viva exclaimed in wonderment. Nova said nothing. She definitely thought what Kuja's dragon did kicked serious ass, but she'd be drawn and quartered through hell before she ever admitted it to his face. "Yeah, whatever", she said with her arms folded. "Well, now that our abadon problem has been taken care of, do you think _now_ would be a good time to tell us just where the hell you plan on taking us?"

Kuja sighed and shook his head. "Don't you like surprises?", he asked.

"I think I've had more than enough surprises already, thank you", Nova replied in a steely voice.

At that very instant a large, dark form leaped over their heads in a swift blur and landed about five feet away from them. It turned around, lowered it's head, and growled savagely. It was the most fearsome sight Nova and Viva had ever seen. It's head was that of a grotesque hellhound. It's enormous violet-colored body had four huge muscular legs and paws like an overgrown wildcat. Unbelievably large, black horns protruded from it's head, and it's tail looked like a cross between a cruel looking black whip and a thick shark's tail. It's glowing yellow eyes studied them like a bulldog regarding a huge slab of steak. "What… the hell… is _that_?", Nova asked fearfully.

"I believe it is called a behemoth", Kuja replied tensely.

"Is it gonna eat us?", Viva asked, terrified.

"Let's just put it this way", Kuja said, backing up. "If I were you, I really wouldn't waste time asking it if it _was_ going to eat us." That was the last thing that was said before all three of them turned and jumped onto the back of the dragon. "Fly, my beast! Fly!", Kuja commanded. The dragon spread it's wings and jumped into the air. But not fast enough. Before the dragon was five feet over the ground the behemoth had jumped onto one of the dragon's hind feet and was trying to drag it back down. The dragon roared and flew erratically through the trees, trying to shake the unwelcome hitchhiker off. But it was to no avail. The behemoth was hell-bent on seeing to it that none of them escaped.

"Dammit! That monster is _serious_!", Kuja said grimly as he tried to direct his dragon as best as he could through the maze of trees. Nova and Viva said nothing. They just clung for dear life to the back of the dragon and prayed they'd get out of this alive. The dragon finally broke through the trees and was flying over an unbelievably deep and large canyon. Nova could see that there was a river far below, although as high up as they were, it looked like a blue lace of shoestring. There was a flimsy wooden bridge stretched across the chasm. It looked deserted, like no one had crossed it in years, which was a good thing, because it also looked terribly unstable. "Hang on, ladies!", Kuja said as they flew over the large chasm, the dragon all the while trying to shake itself free of the behemoth. They were almost across the chasm when the dragon jerked to a sudden stop and started roaring in rage. Kuja looked back and saw that the behemoth was hanging on to the wooden bridge and trying it's best to use it's newfound leverage to pull them back. "Oh, for the love of…", Kuja grumbled.

"Okay, enough is enough", Nova growled. She drew one of her daggers and crawled down to the dragon's hind leg. The behemoth saw her and snapped at her, barely missing her leg. "Take _this_, you ugly, deformed mutt!", she yelled as she buried the sharp tip of her dagger into the monster's claw. The monster roared in pain and anger and reached up with it's muzzle, trying one last time to maul Nova. It missed her and buried it's fangs into the dragon's heel. That was all the dragon could stand. Kuja's beast roared and kicked out strongly with it's powerful hind leg, shaking itself free of the behemoth once and for all. Unfortunately, the behemoth was not the only one it freed itself of, and Nova suddenly found herself, thanks to the dragon's sudden defensive move, to be plummeting hundreds of feet with the behemoth to the river below. The shock of being suddenly dismounted in mid-air had not yet left Nova when she started to realize that she was going to die. She thought she heard Viva call out to her. Or maybe it was Kuja? She couldn't be sure, as sound itself seemed to leave her and everything seemed to be happening in a blur in slow motion, as if she was falling through murky water.

A few seconds went by before she felt wetness blowing past the hairlines on the side of her head, and she realized the reason her vision was blurry was because she had tears in her eyes.

_There's no escape for me this time_, Nova thought to herself. _I am truly dead._


	5. Chapter Five

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
by: Amisha N. Smith

**

_Well, things seem to have taken a turn for the worse, haven't they? I believe this is where we cue the entrance of yet another cool character. Whom, you ask? Well, I won't spoil it for ya. But I will say he's my favorite; the best, in my opinion. He's pretty much the reason I love Final Fantasy. Hell, he's the reason I started loving RPG's! And now, on with the story!_

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
Chapter Five**

_I can't believe this is happening to me._

Filled with rage and sadness, a young man contemplated his fate as his consciousness sailed weightlessly within the heart of the Lifestream of the Planet. His existence was no longer his own; he was now a part of the bloodline of his world. He looked to the left and the right and watched the souls of others who had passed from life drifting at his side.

The souls of others who had… died…

The young man's heart flooded with unquenchable hatred and he gritted his teeth. This was not right. He should not be here. By all rights he should have been ruling over these pitiful souls and the entire planet by now. In life he had machinated a plan. A _glorious_ plan, to take back what had been usurped from him and his mother by the evil traitors of the past. The plan had seemed so sure. So foolproof. So… _perfect_. But in truth, it was not perfect. There was one major flaw that he did not count on to be a threat. One major snag that was ultimately the undoing of him and all his plans.

_That bastard puppet_, the young man thought with immeasurable malice. When he was alive he had many puppets, clones infused with the blood of his mother, that he could control and force to do his bidding just by thinking. But there was one puppet that was different from the rest. He was stronger, faster, deadlier. This particular puppet and his ragtag crew of hangers-on were able to track him and cut him and his mother down, even when he had morphed into his more powerful forms. In a last desperate move, he had called the puppet down to him within the dark shadows of the Planet's belly, hoping to kill the meddling bastard and steal enough of his energy to heal and regain the great power he had lost much of. He was extremely surprised when, instead, the puppet slashed him with his sword all over his body in blinding, inhuman speed, just before leaping in the air and delivering a final, fatal blow.

The young man remembered how he fell backwards, the image of the traitorous puppet standing over him in triumph still etched into his mind, before he took his last breath. And now, here he was. Drifting on the wings of time with the souls of the dead descendants of traitors. Souls that he had planned to steal the power of after he forced them to emerge to the surface of the Planet. Had his plan worked out, he and his mother would have been gods. But his plan failed. All was lost. And it was all because of that annoying, persistent puppet. That third-rate failure clone who became a much more dangerous enemy for him than he could possibly have imagined. The puppet's very name was enough to draw out bestial rage from within the core of his heart.

_Cloud…_

The young man threw his head back and screamed in utter despair. A few souls that floated at his side turned their heads and regarded him with curiosity for about three seconds, then turned back around and continued their journey through the Lifestream. The young man glared at them in contempt. They had already surrendered their individuality, assembling themselves into the Lifestream and connecting with the other souls there to become one entity. _I'll never be like you_, the young man swore to himself. _I am the ruler of this world. You are not worthy to be in my presence._ He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and focused on the hatred in his heart. If he could just hold on to that, he could keep his individuality. He could keep his own mind. And maybe, just maybe, he would be able to find a way to return to the Planet and take revenge for the way he and his mother were wronged. He refused to surrender who he was to the Lifestream. He yawned loudly and blinked his eyes. _First I shall rest_, he thought to himself. _Once I have regained my energy, I will put my plan of vengeance into motion. The traitors will rue the day they trifled with us!_ That thought put an evil smile on his face, even as his eyes began to grow heavy with fatigue. He closed his eyes, relaxed, and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.

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_"Aaaah! Wha…? I… I'm falling?"_

The young man awoke with a start as he felt himself falling downward. Indeed, he was plummeting down and away from the Lifestream at breakneck speed. "What… what is _this_? What is going on?", he asked himself, alarmed. He looked downward and saw he was falling towards a huge mass of bright light. That's when he _truly_ started to panic. He knew what that light was. He instantly recognized it from when he had once used his powerful essence to keep it imprisoned within the core of the Planet, so that it wouldn't interfere with his plan to usurp the power of the Lifestream.

_Holy? What are you doing here?_

The young man continued to descend until he was hovering right in front of Holy, only two feet away from touching the bright, powerful essence. The young man shivered, in spite of all his hatred and contempt. Here he was, helplessly facing the guardian of all life on the Planet, the guardian he had once in life held hostage in order to further his and his mother's ambitions of ruling the world. Would Holy take revenge now? Would the essence of the Planet tear his soul apart so that he wouldn't exist even in the afterlife? That thought terrified the young man. If he were to be completely destroyed now, he wouldn't be able to avenge himself and his mother later.

"Do not fear. I have come bearing joyous news to you", Holy announced in a voice that sounded like a thousand people were speaking. The omnipotent being's voice was as soothing and smooth as silk, yet so powerful and clear it seemed to the young man to surround and subdue him with a power all it's own. He was far too proud to let Holy know how awed he was, however.

"Oh really?", he spat in contempt. "And just what is this 'joyous news'?"

"You are to be given a second chance", Holy replied, seemingly unaffected by the young man's obvious disrespect. "You will receive the gift of life again, as well as a chance to atone for your past sins."

"_My_ past sins?", the young man snarled, enraged. "What of the past sins of the many traitors that now inhabit the Planet? What of the sins of the people that tried to enslave me and my mother and rob us of our right to rule the world?"

"My dear child, you have been wronged and deceived most of your life", Holy responded with sympathy and kindness in His voice. "Those who had power over you since you were a young child are responsible for what you had become in life. You were driven insane, and committed many treacherous acts for which you might never be forgiven. And now here you are, your own life taken from you, and perhaps soon, your very soul."

That statement sent a cold arrow through the young man's heart. "What do you mean by that?", he snapped, trying unsuccessfully to disguise the fear in his voice.

"The souls of those whom you've murdered cry out to me for justice", Holy answered with regret in His voice. "I have a duty to come here and execute your soul by rending your very essence to pieces, so that you will no longer exist." _So, Holy has come here to destroy me after all_, the young man thought in terror. He opened his mouth and tried to reply, but realized he was too afraid to talk. "But do not despair, my child", Holy said. "For I also have the right to give you a second chance to redeem yourself. And if you can succeed in atoning for your wrongdoings, you can be forgiven for all and began anew."

The young man began to consider what Holy had told him. _I have done nothing wrong_, he thought in resentment. _And yet this being has the gall to come and try to give me a second chance?_ His eyes then narrowed as he began to consider his other option; Complete and total death. If he refused, Holy would be well within His right to tear his soul apart and destroy it. And if that happened, he would never be able to find a way to return to life and destroy his and his mother's enemies. The young man smiled inwardly. _I can simply tell Holy that I wish to have this 'second chance' to redeem myself_, he thought. _Then, once I have returned to the Planet, I will hunt down that traitorous puppet and his friends and kill them all. Once I have done that, I will be free to conquer the Planet without interference from anyone._

"Well?", Holy inquired. "Have you decided?"

"Yes I have", the young man answered, doing his best not to smile. "I will accept the second chance you are giving me and atone for my past sins."

"Wonderful!", Holy replied joyously. "I am sure that you will succeed in redeeming yourself. We shall began without delay." Holy then surprised the young man by suddenly surrounding and completely engulfing him. The bright light of Holy cradled him, making him feel comfortable and warm all over in spite of himself. "Now just relax, my child. I shall take you to meet my brother. Once there, He will explain to you your new mission."

"Uh-huh", the young man replied with a huge yawn, barely hearing what Holy had said. Being blanketed by the warm, gentle glow of Holy was slowly but surely lulling him to sleep. It was odd to him that he felt so relaxed and warm and yet so full of bloodlust and a powerful thirst for vengeance. _Yes, Holy. Give me back my life_, he thought to himself. _Give me another chance to redeem myself after being defeated by that unworthy puppet, Cloud. For when I find him and his friends, my sword and I will send them all straight to hell._ That thought put a wicked smile on his face as he surrendered his senses and drifted off to sleep.

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"Awaken, chosen warrior! Rise from your sleep!"

The young man awoke with a start when he heard an impossibly huge and loud voice bellowing for him to wake up. He opened his eyes and beheld the most frightening and yet most magnificent being he had ever seen. It was what looked to be a god in the image of a man. It seemed large enough to be a small planet. It's upper body glowed a bright blue and it's chest and head were both encircled by two light-blue halos, each one seemingly emanating a tremendous power. From it's arms sprung two huge black wings that made the very atmosphere around the god-like being quake every time they slightly moved. The lower part of it's muscular body seemed to be like a tail; an extension of it's mass, and was encircled by two rings of power. The rings were not unlike the other rings surrounding its head and chest, they also seemed to emanate great power from them, but unlike the light-blue rings, these were black. They also moved as they encircled him, seeming to both intimidate anyone who looks upon them and protect their master, whom they revolved around.

"Who… are you?", the young man asked the great entity.

"I am Necron, deity born from the void before existence itself and guardian of the ninth offspring", the entity answered in a voice that could crumble mountains.

"The ninth… offspring?", the young man replied, confused.

"Your reality is not the only reality in existence", Holy explained. "Your world exists in many different realities, or _dimensions_, thereof. Each dimension is created and ruled over by a different deity. I created the reality _you're_ from, the seventh dimension. Or, as we gods often refer to it, the seventh offspring. My brother, Necron, is the creator and ruler of the ninth offspring."

"Ah", the young man replied. "So… what does this have to do with me?"

"Rise to your feet, young warrior, and listen to me well", Necron commanded. It was at that moment the young man looked down at himself and realized his physical body had returned. He was no longer merely a consciousness floating on the winds of time. His arms, his legs, the flesh on his body, the hair on his head… everything was as it was before he had died. Even the clothes he was wearing in life were the same; a long leather coat and pants uniform that was black all over and included high boots, steel padding about the shoulders, and a huge scabbard in his belt that held an unbelievably long sword. The young man slowly stood up on his legs and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. His other hand brushed a strand of his long silvery hair out of his face and his mouth stretched into a twisted and deadly grin. _Ever closer I draw to vengance_, he thought, gleeful with anticipation.

"You and a few others like you have been chosen to defend my offspring from evil unbridled", Necron continued. "A sinister force threatens to upset the balance of the elements on my planet. As you may already know, the elements are the essence of what each offspring is comprised of. There are six elements altogether; earth, wind, water, fire, light, and darkness. These six elements exist to keep balance and harmony within the nature of each and every offspring. This balance is very delicate, and yet all of life itself depends upon it. Should either of the elements become stronger or weaker than the others, or should any of the elements disappear altogether, the results would be catastrophic. Nature would be thrown into chaos and the offspring itself would begin to implode, rotting away to it's very core."

"Mmmhmm", the young man interrupted, folding his arms across his chest. "So, this is the part where you tell me what exactly is threatening the balance of nature on your 'offspring', and how exactly you expect me to be able to stop it." _Not that I really give a shit_, he thought to himself. _As soon as I have been returned to the Planet, I will be too preoccupied with getting my revenge to care anything about you and your 'offspring'._

"Indeed", Necron affirmed with a nod. "Nearly all life on each offspring is comprised of an equal amount of the six elements of nature. However, after a cycle of every thousand years, there is born on each offspring six exceptions to that rule. Six people, each one comprised of a massively larger amount of one element than any of the others. These people we gods have named the Elementi, people of the elements. They are extremely powerful, for each one has the ability to completely control whichever element they are most comprised of." Necron seemed to lean forward slightly and his eyes stared right into the eyes of the young man. "You, young warrior, are comprised of an extremely large amount of darkness. You are a dark Elementi."

The young man raised one eyebrow but kept listening. _Is there some power I have that I didn't know about?_, he wondered. _If there is some great new power that rests inside of me, perhaps I can use it to help me defeat my enemies after I have returned to the Planet._ He had to hold back a wicked smile at that thought. _I'd best listen to what this 'Necron' has to say. It may prove beneficial later on._

"I shall teleport you to the ninth offspring, where there are five more Elementi that you will have to deal with", Necron told him. "You will meet with the Elementi of wind, water, and light. Together, you four will save the ninth offspring from the evil that threatens it."

The young man's heart skipped a beat and he inhaled sharply as he just realized something: Necron was not planning to send him back to his own world. He was going to a completely different dimension. An unquenchable anger filled his heart as this disappointing fact just dawned on him. He couldn't allow this to happen. He _had_ to get back to his own world. He _had_ to avenge his mother. He _had_ to settle the score with that bastard puppet Cloud. "What about _my_ world?", he asked in a sharp and enraged voice. "When will I be able to return to my dimension?"

"That question we cannot answer", Holy chimed in. "The seventh offspring has rejected you, and the souls of those that died at your hand cry out for your destruction. As the guardian and ruler of the seventh offspring, it is my duty to destroy you. Yet I could not bring myself to do it, so great was my pity for you. It is good that you happened to be an Elementi, and that my brother has need of your service."

"Indeed", Necron said. "The Elementi of darkness that was born on my offspring had died recently. It is well that you yourself are an Elementi of darkness, because now you can be of good use to me and it gives Holy an alternative to completely annihilating your soul."

The young man quivered with rage as he listened to Necron and Holy. Who were _they_ to determine his fate? What rights did they think they had to do such a thing? However, a survival instinct within him told him to keep his reservations to himself. Who were _they_? They were gods, that's who they were. And they had every right to completely destroy him if they wanted to. And if he were destroyed by them here, there would definitely be no chance of him ever finding a way to return to his own world.

"Well? Are you ready to be teleported to the ninth offspring?", Necron asked the young man. "Or would you rather face the ultimate judgment of Holy?" The young man lowered his head and sighed angrily when he heard Necron's proposal/threat. "Fine. I'll do it", he snarled. _I shall do as you ask for now_, he thought with malice. _But I will find a way to return to my own world someday. My mother and I will rule the Planet. And we will get our revenge._

"A truly wise decision", Holy said, obviously pleased. "Once you have been teleported to the ninth offspring, you will join the Elementi of wind, water, and light. With them, you will redeem yourself by saving the ninth offspring and restoring order within the balance of nature."

"Wait a minute", the young man interrupted. "Aren't there more Elementi than that? You have only mentioned three others. What of the Elementi of earth and fire?"

"They are the danger that now threaten the ninth offspring", Necron replied. "You see, the earth and fire Elementi have found a way to use their elemental powers to try to gain dominance over their planet. They have joined together and are now using their servants to hunt down the other Elementi in order to usurp their powers so they can control all the elements on their world. They have already murdered countless people whom they felt had the potential to be Elementi, yet after they killed them and stole their souls for their unholy ritual they realized none of the people they murdered were Elementi. Unfortunately, their powers have become greater and their senses much keener over time. They can now use their powers to sense and find the true Elementi wherever they are. When I realized this, I used up a massive amount of my power to revive an Elementi that had died a little while ago. He is almost as powerful as you. His name is Kuja, and he is an Elementi of wind. I sent him to find and protect the Elementi of light and water and to meet up with you, the Elementi of darkness, whom I would send to meet them later. Unfortunately one of them is currently in great peril, thanks to one of the soul-stealing monsters sent by an Acolyte of the Elementi of fire, and she will die if she is not rescued. Your very first mission when you have reached the ninth offspring will be to save her life. Once you have done that, you and your comrades will travel north to the Sanctuary of Souls. There, within the very core of that temple, I will explain more to you and your comrades. Understood?"

"Whatever", the young man growled, so angry he could have spit fire. He did not like being forced to jump through hoops for anybody, not even a god. "So how exactly are we supposed to find this 'Sanctuary' anyway?"

"Kuja will show you the way", Necron replied. "Simply tell him what I told you, and he will guide you to the temple. Are you ready for teleportation?"

"Like I have a choice?", the young man sneered. "Let's just do this already."

"Very well", Necron answered. "Remember, the first thing you must do is save the Elementi of light. Do not fail, for she will be the key Elementi to stopping the evil that threatens her world. She _must_ survive."

"Farewell, my child. And good luck", Holy said before the young man was once again surrounded and engulfed in a bright light. Necron and Holy vanished from his sight and he felt his body become weightless as it floated up into the air. Suddenly he felt his body drop and begin to fall. "What the…?", the young man said, startled. Another flash of light engulfed him, and in an instant it disappeared… and the young man found himself plummeting down out of the sky into a huge canyon.

_What the hell is this?_, the young man wondered. _Did Holy and Necron send me here to die? No, that doesn't make sense. Why would they when they could easily have destroyed my soul?_ He began to look around him, wondering what was the purpose of his being sent to this specific location. They told him he would have to save someone, but he didn't see anybody in danger, except himself. _He_ was the one falling down into a canyon. Suddenly he saw something falling far beneath him. He squinted his eyes and tried to make out what it was.

"That's a person!", he said to himself. "Hmph, no doubt this 'Elementi' that I'm supposed to rescue. How did they wind up in this predicament, anyway?" With a sigh he shrugged his shoulders. "This is exactly why I hate humans. They are so helpless and useless. Oh well, I'd better save this Elementi person. I don't want that arrogant bastard god Necron to destroy my soul for failing my mission." The young man straightened his body out to make himself more aerodynamic and shot downward like an arrow. He flew downward faster and faster, quickly closing the gap between himself and his quarry. As he got closer, he could make out the shape of the body of the person he was trying to rescue. _A young girl. More than likely in her late teens_, he thought. _Huh? Is that… a tail growing out of her rear end? Is she human?_ He then felt something wet hit him in the corner of his mouth. It tasted salty. _Tears_, the young man observed. _This girl knows she's gonna die._ The young man smiled wickedly to himself. He wished he could simply watch her fall, or better yet, cut her in half on the way down. But he knew Necron was probably watching, so he wouldn't dare let any harm come to her, much less harm her himself.

He finally caught up to the girl and wrapped his arms around her. He heard the girl squawk in surprise. "Wha…? Who are _you_? Where did _you_ come from?", the girl asked in a shocked voice.

"I've been sent here to save you", the young man snapped at her. "So be quiet and let me do it."

"Who the hell do you think _you_ are?", the girl asked him angrily. The young man could not believe the girl had the balls to get impudent with him in the situation she was in. "Who do I think _I_ am?", the young man replied in a cold voice. "I think I'm the person who will leave you to your death if you don't shut the hell up." That seemed to silence the girl and the young man was pleased. With one arm still around the girl's waist he held his other hand out with his palm aimed downward. Almost immediately their descent began to slow down dramatically, and not a second too soon, for they were barely twenty feet above the bottom of the canyon. He saw the young girl look at him in amazement and almost smiled. _Yes, marvel at my powers, you human weakling_, he thought. _Marvel at your species superior._

"What… are you?", the girl asked him in wonderment. "Are you a great sorcerer? Are you even human?"

"I could ask you the same thing", the young man replied in a dark voice. "What's with the tail? What are you, some species of monkey?" The girl narrowed her eyes at him and the young man smirked. Once they finally finished their gentle descent to the canyon floor and their feet touched ground beside the narrow river the girl pushed herself away from him. "Just who the hell are you calling a monkey?", she snarled.

"Well _that's_ an easy one to answer", the young man replied with an arched eyebrow. "After all, you're the only monkey around here." The girl looked like she was about to explode when suddenly something huge fell into the river behind him with a huge splash. The young man turned as quickly as lightning and halfway drew his sword from it's hilt. "What was that?", he asked as he sharply eyed the river.

"The reason I was falling from the sky in the first place", the girl answered as she drew her blades and stood ready to do battle. She didn't have to wait long. A few more seconds went by before out of the river leaped a huge behemoth. It hit the ground on all fours, shook itself, and lowered it's head and growled as it stared at the young man and woman with a predatory glare.

"Just stay back, I'll handle this", the girl said urgently.

"Yeah, right", the young man said with a snicker. "You mean like you handled it _before_ I came along? Just stay out of my way. I don't want to have to save your worthless ass more than once today."

"That's _it_!", the girl yelled angrily. "Look, I have _had_ it with your attitude! I can deal with this just fine without your help, Mr. Whoever-you-are!"

The young man looked at her, not able to help being impressed with her spirit and courage. He then turned his gaze back on the monster. "My name, if you must know, is Sephiroth", he said in a cold voice. "And _you_ can do whatever the hell you want. Just don't blame me if you wind up dead. And don't get in my way, unless you wanna get cut."

"Tch, whatever", the girl sneered. She turned around to face the behemoth, seething with anger inside. _I'm not gonna let this 'Sephiroth' push me around_, she thought angrily. _I'll be the one that kills this monster. I'll show him who's worthless! He can kiss my ass!_ Both of the warriors and the behemoth tensed themselves, ready to do battle yet again.


	6. Chapter 6

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements 

**

Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
by: Amisha N. Smith

**

_Firstly, let me just say sorry for taking so long with this newest chapter. I've been so busy with things that are super important (video games) and other things of mediocre significance (college, work). Anyhoo, I'm back. (Lucky you.) And I'm ready to get this story back on track. Now, where were we? Ah yes…._

**Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements  
Chapter Six**

"Your majesties! Your majesties, please wait!"

Steiner waved his arms and yelled frantically as he ran down the boarding plank of the Hilda Guarde and across the plain towards the king and queen. The ship had barely landed before Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi had disembarked and were speedily rushing towards the forest. Not that he could blame them. After all, their children were currently in the custody of a homicidal madman and being hunted by a giant killer bug. "Your majesties, _please_! A small moment of your time!"

Zidane stopped and whirled to face the knight. "Look Rusty, we don't _have_ a moment", he snapped. "Kuja's got our kids, and we're gonna get them back. _Now_. And if you plan on tagging along, may I suggest you shut your trap and move your ass? We ain't waiting for you."

"Of _course_ I'm coming, you idiot!", Steiner yelled back in fury. This was one of those times when the knight would forget that Zidane was his royal monarch and revert back to the habits he had picked up from his earlier years; back when he and Zidane would constantly berate each other. "But it would be very unwise for all of us to just rush headlong into this forest! It goes on for miles, and if we all get lost at once we may never get the girls back!"

"Well, what are you suggesting that we do?", Vivi asked anxiously.

"I suggest that we split up into different directions", Steiner replied. "If we're all searching different places in the forest, there's a bigger chance that Kuja and the girls will be found."

Zidane stroked his beard. "Not a bad plan, Rusty", he admitted. He then turned to his wife. "What do you think, Dagger? I think it's worth a try."

Garnet nodded. "Indeed, it's a sound idea", she agreed. "This forest is huge, and if we all get lost in one place, we'll never get anywhere. Splitting up will help us cover more ground." She then straightened up and prepared to take charge. "All right, this is how we're going to do this. Steiner, you will go immediately due west. Vivi, you head north east into the thicket. I'll go straight ahead, and you, Zidane, will go straight east. Everyone got that?"

"Loud and clear", Zidane replied.

"Got it", Vivi answered.

"Here, everyone. Take these", Steiner said as he handed everyone each a strange looking wand-shaped instrument. On the head of each wand rested a clear glowing crystal. "What the heck is this?", Zidane wondered out loud.

"There are called starlight shooters", Steiner answered. "They are used in festivals by children who are too young to handle fireworks. The crystals on each one are sort of like magic lamps. When one of us finds the girls, or if we get lost or in trouble, we can use these to shoot a bright light into the air, thus signaling the rest of the group where we are."

"Very good", Garnet said with a nod. "Excellent work, Steiner." Steiner responded with a salute. "Now then", Garnet continued, "let's get moving. The sooner we find Kuja, the sooner we can flatten him and save our daughters."

"I'll second that", Zidane said. And without another word the four of them split up and headed into the woods.

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Nova cried out in pain as the behemoth slapped her aside with one of it's huge paws. She landed face-down in the dirt, stars dancing in her eyes. "Ow", she said weakly as she rose to her knees and rubbed her backside. "Oooh, my aching ass." She then looked over at the behemoth and saw that it was much worse off than she was. The silver haired swordsman that had saved her life, the one who called himself Sephiroth, was easily making short work of the beast. The behemoth had cuts and deep gashes all over it's body, wounds that were swiftly multiplying with each second. The behemoth roared in agony and struck out at it's attacker, who simply dodged and counterattacked with his sword with a speed that was… inhuman. At one point, the young man reached out with his hand and viciously grabbed the behemoth by it's throat. He then threw the large beast high into the air with impossible strength, jumped up after it, and began slashing it all over it's body in mid-air. Nova was unaware of how wide her eyes had grown and how low her jaw had dropped as she watched Sephiroth land gracefully on the ground about half a second before the behemoth crashed to the ground behind him in a bloody heap. The young man then eyed her with a dark smile that chilled her to her bones.

"Y… you're a… _demon_", Nova managed to stammer. That seemed to make Sephiroth's smile grow wider and Nova was suddenly terrified; even more terrified than she was when she was falling to her death into the canyon. Sephiroth turned his back on her and walked over to the behemoth. He cruelly kicked the beast and sent it flying till it crashed into the wall of the canyon. With an evil laugh, he walked over to where the behemoth landed and kicked it again, sending it rolling wildly to the side until it stopped right by the river. The behemoth made a sound that was something like a whimper, and Nova actually found herself feeling sorry for the fearsome creature. Sephiroth looked like he was on his way to do more damage to the monster, but Nova couldn't allow that. She'd seen enough.

"_Stop_ it!", Nova yelled as she rose to her feet to face Sephiroth. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?" The young man froze and slowly swiveled his head to stare at her with a gaze that seemed like it could turn a cobra to stone. Nova tried her best to feign indifference at Sephiroth's deadly glare. "The monster is down. You don't have to keep beating it up", Nova said angrily.

Sephiroth stared at Nova for about a minute. He then turned and slowly began walking over to her. Nova tried to back away but realized she couldn't move. She was frozen in place; petrified with fear. Sephiroth walked right up to her and leaned over into her face. Nova could feel an immeasurably mighty power emanating from the young man; a power that seemed to envelop him. It felt as if it was enveloping her too as he stood close to her.

"First of all", he said in a dark voice, "I don't take orders from anyone. _Especially_ from a useless, loud-mouthed brainless female monkey like yourself. So, for your _own_ sake, don't ever tell me what to do again. Understood?" As he said that last word his hand brushed the hilt of his sword, sending a silent message to Nova that she understood loud and clear. A lump formed in her throat and she began to sweat profusely. Sephiroth then straightened up and folded his arms as he glared down at Nova. "Secondly", he continued, "that monster is an enemy. It was trying to kill you. And in a fight to the death, mercy is nothing more than an idiotic notion. If your situations were reversed, and you and the monster were in each other's shoes, do you think it would have any pity for _you_?"

"I… I… don't _care_", Nova managed to stammer defiantly. "It's still wrong to beat a living creature while it's down! It's not civilized! And being civilized is what _separates_ humans from monsters!"

When he heard that, Sephiroth threw his head back and laughed loudly. "What's so funny?", Nova asked, her eyes narrowing. _"Human?"_, Sephiroth sneered after he was done laughing. "Last time I checked, 'humans' didn't have monkey tails growing out of their asses." Nova could feel her face turn red and her blood pressure rising. Sephiroth smirked, seemingly satisfied that he had pissed her off once again.

"That's **it**!", Nova yelled at Sephiroth, temporarily forgetting that she was actually rather afraid of him. She pointed her finger in his face just one fourth of an inch from his nose. "Now listen up, asshole", the angry princess snarled. "I don't know what your problem with me is, but you'd better get it in check. And lay off the snide comments about my tail! You got me, pretty-boy?" She then looked down at his weapon. "By the way, what's with the super-long sword?", she asked in a flat voice. "Are you overcompensating for something?" No sooner than when she said that did she suddenly find her oxygen cut off as Sephiroth grabbed her by her throat and raised her into the air. Nova struggled, gasped for air, and even tried to plead for mercy, realizing that the last sentence she said might very well have been a few words too many. She looked down at Sephiroth's face, which was now contorted with fury, and was pretty sure that she was about to die.

"I can't believe you had the gall to say that to me", Sephiroth said in a voice thick with anger. "Insolent human bitch. I'm just thirsting to kill you." After about half a minute, he then released Nova and she crumpled to the ground, holding her throat and coughing uncontrollably. "However", Sephiroth continued as he looked down at her in sheer contempt, "seeing as how your survival determines my very own, I have no choice but to spare your life. For _now_."

_"Nova! Nova!"_, a girl's voice yelled from above. Sephiroth looked up and saw a great silver-white dragon descending from the sky. On the back of the dragon were two of the most peculiar looking individuals Sephiroth had ever seen. One was what seemed to be a young girl wearing strange clothes and an even stranger looking large pointed hat. The other was a young fair featured man with silver-white hair much like his own, albeit a little shorter. But Sephiroth could see, from the flamboyantly elegant white suit the young man was wearing and the effeminate, almost delicate air he had about himself that their similarities ended with hair color.

No sooner than when the dragon landed did the young girl with the pointy hat jump down off it's back and rush towards his direction. "Nova! Oh, Nova!", the young girl cried in a teary voice as she ran past Sephiroth up to the girl he had saved earlier and threw her arms around her. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"More or less", Nova replied, still stroking her throat where Sephiroth had grabbed her. She glared daggers of hatred at the warrior, who merely smiled evilly in return. Nova gently hugged the girl sobbing on her chest. "Hey, it's okay, Viva. I'm alright. You don't have to be scared anymore", she said reassuringly.

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Sephiroth observed the tearful reunion between the two girls and shook his head in disgust. Emotions; another reason why he detested humans so much. In fact, it was one of the biggest reasons they were all so useless and pathetic. The only real use he ever found for humans was to gain a sheer sense of amusement while mercilessly slaughtering them in herds.

"Nova, I thought you were a goner for sure!", the one named Viva said as she helped her chum to her feet. "How… how did you survive?"

"Well", Nova said, as she rubbed the back of her neck and once again started glaring at Sephiroth, "I guess you could say this guy saved me."

Viva looked up and eyed Sephiroth curiously, as if just noticing him for the first time. "Mister? You saved Nova?", she asked shyly.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "More or less", he retorted, already irritated with the endearing little human girl.

Viva cocked her head to the side inquisitively. "Well… thank you", she said timidly. "Um… where did you come from?"

"Careful, Viva", Nova warned her friend. "Don't get too near him. This guy's not playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean." Before Sephiroth could respond to the girl's insolence by kicking her in her face, he noticed that he was being approached by the young man he saw riding the dragon with Viva earlier. Even the young man's style of walking seemed rather effeminate and unthreatening. Yet Sephiroth could sense that there was much more to him than there seemed. He could practically feel that the strange man was pulsing with power; not quite enough power to rival his own, but enough to make him formidable. Yet Sephiroth remained calm and indifferent as the young man walked up to him. He was confident that, if the young man were to try anything funny, he could handle this guy in his sleep.

"Ah! Sephiroth, I presume?", the young man said grandly, waving his arm with a dramatic flair that Sephiroth found not only to be unnecessary, but extremely irritating. This guy hadn't said five words in his presence, and he was already itching to cut him in half.

"Indeed", Sephiroth said coldly. "And _you_ must be Kuja."

"The one and only", Kuja replied with a sweeping bow which only served to irritate Sephiroth more. "Necron told me to expect you to show up. I just didn't think it'd be this soon. Oh, and thank you for saving the princess."

"Whatever", Sephiroth snapped nastily. "Look, I only saved her because I'm being forced to do the bidding of Necron. So don't bother thanking me, because if that meddling asshole deity wasn't holding my very existence hostage, I'd be off doing something that was actually _worth_ my time. Got it?"

Kuja seemed slightly taken aback by Sephiroth's rudeness. "Ah, y-yes. As you wish", he replied. Nova sneered and shook her head in disgust at the rude warrior, and Viva just stood there and said nothing; seemingly too awed and afraid of Sephiroth to utter another word.

Sephiroth took a few seconds to look around at his three new companions. He then sighed and started rubbing his temples. _So, these guys are the "Elementi" that Necron was talking about?_, he thought to himself. _I'm gonna have to travel with these pathetic human losers?_ When he was done mulling over his ill fortune, he looked up and narrowed his eyes at Kuja. "Before He sent me here, Necron told me that our first destination is the Sanctuary of Souls in the north", he announced.

"The Sanctuary of Souls?", Kuja said as he stroked his chin. "Hmm. Why there?"

"Don't really know, don't really give a shit", Sephiroth growled. "All I know is that He said He'd give us more instructions and further details into what the hell is going on once we arrived there. Hopefully He'll tell us how to easily dispatch whatever "evil" is threatening this piss-poor excuse for a world. And once that's done and over with, I only pray that Necron will allow me to return to my _own_ world."

"Your _own_ world?", Viva piped in, instantly curious. "You mean… you're from another world?"

Sephiroth whirled on Viva. "That's none of your business, human!", he snapped nastily. "Ah!", Viva cried and jumped behind Nova. That was when Nova officially reached the breaking point in her temper. Sephiroth had no right to yell at Viva like that. "Geez, do you have to be such a _dick_?", Nova yelled at him, not impressed at all with Sephiroth's attitude. "What's your _problem_ anyway?"

"Shut up", Sephiroth growled menacingly.

"_Make_ me", Nova growled, just as menacingly.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and flexed his fingers, longing to grasp the hilt of his sword and teach this mealy-mouthed piece of human garbage a lesson. _I know I'm not allowed to kill her_, he thought, skimming over his options. _But maybe Necron wouldn't mind if one of his Elementi were missing a few fingers. Or perhaps an eye or a foot…_ His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar behind him. Sephiroth spun around to face the behemoth once more, his sword already drawn. _Argh, I can't believe I forgot all about that beast!_, he thought, furious at himself for being so careless. _It's all because I allowed that monkey-tailed misfit to distract me._

"AAAHHH! Th-the behemoth! It's _back_!", Viva yelled fearfully.

"Oh dear", Kuja said. "Persistent little beast, isn't it?" He then looked closer and saw the beast was wobbling on it's feet, hardly able to stand. It had fierce gashes and bruises all over it's body. It looked as if the only thing keeping it alive at this point was sheer force of will. "Well, well. Looks like _someone_ has been busy", he said, glancing over at Sephiroth. Sephiroth said nothing. He merely started stalking towards the behemoth, ready to slice it to ribbons. "Stay back, all of you", he snapped. "I'll finish this once and for all."

"Get outta my way!", Nova snarled as she rushed past Sephiroth, her Twin Moon blades drawn. "Nova! W-_wait_! Come back!", she heard Viva yell fearfully. But she wasn't listening. She was too mad at Sephiroth to listen to anybody. _I'll take care of this_, she thought angrily. _Who the hell needs that jackass? I can do this all by myself!_ Nova ran right up to the behemoth and raised her daggers, ready to strike the beast dead. But before she could swing her weapons down for the kill the behemoth opened it's mouth and a purplish-black cloud emitted forth from it, engulfing Nova in a mist that smelled so foul she immediately began to cough and gag uncontrollably.

"Uuuurrghhhh! What… what the… h-hell?", Nova said as she doubled over, trying her best to keep from vomiting. She heard a loud thump ahead of her and looked up to see that the behemoth had dropped dead. "Nova! Nova, are you alright?", she heard her best friend say while running up behind her. Nova straightened herself up and dusted herself off.

"It's okay, Viva. I'm fine", she said as Viva ran up to her.

"Never do that again!", Viva said angrily. "What's _wrong_ with you? That thing could have killed you!"

"Hey, chill out! I said I'm fine!", Nova replied with an edge of anger to her voice. "It's not like I can't handle myself!"

"I'm afraid that's beside the point, my princess", Kuja said, sounding just as angry as Viva did. "How could you be so reckless? You could have been seriously harmed! Don't you ever _think_ before you act?"

"Something tells me that 'thinking' is not this girl's strongest suit", Sephiroth said coolly as he joined the group. That was all Nova could stand. She whirled on Sephiroth, eyes blazing with hatred. "Who the hell asked _you_ to butt in?", she snarled. "You know, I'm really getting sick of you, asshole! Why don't you…" She suddenly stopped talking, mid sentence, as she found herself gasping for air. She clutched desperately at her throat, feeling very much the same way she felt when Sephiroth had grabbed her by her neck earlier. Only this time, instead of only being deprived of oxygen, she was also extremely dizzy and aching all over her body. Her eyes began to bulge and her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She thought she could hear Viva asking her what was the matter but she wasn't exactly sure. Not that it mattered, seeing as how she couldn't answer Viva even if she wanted to. A black curtain fell over Nova's eyes as her senses abandoned her.

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"Nova! _Nova!_ Please open your eyes!", Viva cried as she raised Nova by her shoulders and began shaking her. But it was to no avail; her friend remained unconscious.

"What's wrong with her?", Kuja asked, alarmed, as he bent down to examine her. He put his ear to her chest to listen for her heartbeat. After a few seconds he raised his head, looking more alarmed than ever. "Her heartbeat is faint, and she's not breathing!", he said in a panicked tone.

_"Nova! Please! What's wrong?"_, Viva cried as she fell to her knees beside her friend. Tears were running down her face by then. Sephiroth was the only one who appeared calm at this point. He just sighed, shook his head in disgust, and walked over to where Nova lay. _I really, really hate humans_, he thought to himself. He then stretched out his arm until his palm hovered right over Nova. A stream of light shot down from his palm and hit Nova's chest. A couple of seconds later Nova gasped loudly and began breathing deeply.

"Nova!", Viva cried. "She… she's breathing! Oh, thank god!"

"Wha… how?", Kuja said, looking up at Sephiroth. "How did you… what was that power?"

"Something well beyond your ability to comprehend, human", Sephiroth sneered. He then leaned down and inspected Nova. "All I did was cleanse a huge portion of the poison out of her lungs so she can breathe. She's still contaminated, however. Her only chance of survival is complete detoxification."

"P… poison?", Viva said, fearfully. "But… how? When?"

"Remember that dark purple cloud the behemoth blew in her face just before it died?", Sephiroth replied. "_That_ was a miasma attack, an extremely poisonous and deadly assault indeed. Even in the face of it's own death, the behemoth was determined to kill." He looked over at the dead beast and smirked. "And to think the foolish girl was actually pissed off that I was 'mistreating' the poor beast. I wonder what the stupid little monkey-tailed jackass has to say _now_."

"Don't call her that!", Viva yelled angrily.

"If you want to help her", Sephiroth continued, "then you only have one chance. You must get her to eat some boiled kupo greens."

"Of course! Kupo greens are an excellent remedy for any illness, even miasma poison!", Kuja exclaimed.

"Do you have any kupo greens on you?", Viva asked hopefully.

"No, but I do know where to get some nearby!", Kuja replied. "Directly east of here is a village named Chocotopia. They have kupo greens galore there! We should get moving right away!" He gently picked up Nova in his arms and rushed over to his dragon. Viva had already rushed past him and was perched on the back of the dragon, more anxious than he was to get going. "Don't worry, princess", Kuja said as he gently laid Nova down onto the dragon's back. "You haven't been written out of this play just yet. You are the lead actress in this story, after all." Kuja climbed up behind Nova and looked over at Sephiroth. "Are you coming?", he asked the warrior.

Sephiroth looked at the strange group of humans and was about to weigh his options, then he remembered that the reason he was here was because he had no options. He _had_ to go with them. He had to make sure Nova survived. Because if she didn't, Sephiroth knew that he and Necron would be having yet another conversation, and the second one would be even less pleasant than the first. With an angry sigh, Sephiroth walked over to the dragon and quickly mounted it's back behind Viva. "I'm on", he snapped. "Let's go." Kuja gave a whistle and the dragon flapped it's wings and rose swiftly into the air, heading for the top of the canyon. Sephiroth couldn't help being impressed. Even with four people on it's back, this dragon had more than enough strength to rise effortlessly off the ground. It took the dragon mere seconds to reach the tattered bridge over the canyon and it took off like a streak of lightning, heading eastward.

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King Puck sat in a wooden chair in the guest room of the Hilda Guarde, looking out the window and sulking like a chastised child. His guardian, Freya, had locked him in the room, fearing he might do something stupid like try to run off and find Nova on his own. And Puck had to secretly admit that's probably exactly what he would do if he ever got the chance. He longed for adventure, always. Deep in his heart he knew that he wasn't really king material. He was a rolling stone, as his father often called him in the past. And that was one of the few things he and his father actually agreed on. He truly was a free spirit. And free spirits don't do well in cages.

"Aw man, I can't believe they left me in here", Puck said gloomily to himself. "Geez, it's not like I don't know how to fight. How come everyone but me gets to go on cool adventures? It's not fair." He slumped down in his chair and heaved a heavy sigh. Whoever thought being royalty was a great privilege was severely mistaken. Before Puck had become the royal monarch of the Kingdom of New Burmecia he had traveled the land, experiencing all sorts of new things, seeing the sights, and, most importantly, having fun. Now that he's a king, all he hears is responsibility _this_ and responsibility _that_. No more happy life of a roaming vagabond for him. Now he's responsible for the well-being of an entire freakin' _country_. A terrible burden to put on the shoulders of someone who's so used to being free.

"I can't take this anymore!", Puck suddenly said, standing up from his chair. "What's it gonna take to get these guys to realize that I can take care of myself? Sheesh, Zidane is a king too, and _he_ gets to go out on adventures! Why can't I?" He stalked angrily over to his window and looked out at the clouds, wishing he were anywhere else but in this room. His eyes caught the shape of something big and white flying through the sky just ahead. "Whoa, that's one big bird", Puck said to himself. He then squinted and looked hard at the creature. "Huh? It almost looks like there are people on it's back", he said to himself. "Who would ride a bird?" He cocked his head to the side quizzically. "It's too big to be a chocobo", he said wonderingly. "So then, what the heck… is…?" Suddenly it hit him. That wasn't a bird. That was a dragon. A silver-white dragon to be precise. Which means the people riding the dragon must be none other than…

_"Kuja! Nova! Viva!"_, he yelled excitedly. He ran over to his door and began pounding on it and yelling frantically. "Hey, anybody! I just saw Kuja! Hey, anybody out there? Hey!" No one answered. Pissed off, he turned and looked around the room, searching for a rope or anything else that he could use to lower himself out the window. His eyes rested on two extremely large, silk woven tassels hanging up by either side of the door. "Hmm. That'll work", he said with a grin. He snatched the expensive looking tassels down off the wall and tied them together. He then threw one end of his make-shift rope out of the window and tied the other end to the sturdy leg of the huge wooden table of the guest room. He walked up to the window and braced himself. "I hope this works", he said solemnly. Hanging onto his end of the tassel-rope, he jumped out of the window. He dropped about seven feet before the tassels ran out of slack and he found himself dangling about five feet off the ground. He let go of the tassels and fell the rest of the way, landing on his feet and then falling on his rump.

"Ouch", he said as he got up and rubbed his spine. He then pulled his compass out of his pocket and pointed it in the direction the dragon was flying. "They're headed east!" he said to himself. "That's in the exact direction of Chocotopia! Hmm, I haven't been there since I became king of New Burmecia. I wonder how ol' Chief Elgin is doing?" He looked to his left and his right, making sure no one could see him. Then he started walking swiftly eastward, sword dangling at his belt and a confident grin on his face. Another exciting adventure has begun for him, and he couldn't be happier. "Heh heh, I'll show Freya", he said, his heart racing with excitement. "I'll show 'em all! I'll save Nova and Viva all by myself! Then they'll have no choice but to recognize my true strength!" The thought of people finally realizing how strong and capable he was spurred him to move even faster in his swift pursuit of Kuja's dragon.


End file.
